What Gavin Newsom said when asked point blank if he would run for president after Biden’s interview flop

California Governor Gavin Newsom has said he does not plan to run for president when Democrats hold a public party convention in Chicago next month.

The question came after President Biden gave a disappointing performance in a television interview on Friday and a disastrous debate last month.

Both statements have raised widespread doubts among many Democrats about his ability to campaign or govern effectively.

Some leading Democrats are now desperately looking for possible alternatives in case the 81-year-old Biden drops out of the race.

But Newsom rejected suggestions that he would be the one to take his place in response to questions from a reporter.

“No, I mean, it’s not even…” Newsom began.

“Absolutely not?” the reporter asked.

“I think the hypothetical scenario would hinder the advancement of this candidacy,” Newsom continued.

“That’s a legitimate question, but it’s exactly where the other side wants us, which is this internal battle, and I think it’s extraordinarily futile. I literally said that the second after the debate. It was my first public comment. So I’ve been consistent in that belief, not just privately, but publicly.”

Biden came through Friday’s 22-minute interview with ABC News without any major gaffes, but it seems unlikely to fully assuage concerns about his age and fitness over the next four years, and that he won’t be able to beat Donald Trump in November.

The interview left Biden in a stalemate with a significant faction of his party, with four months to go until Election Day and just weeks until the Democratic National Convention.

Last week, Newsom forcefully defended Biden’s position, telling Michigan Democrats that he was confident the president has the track record and energy to win a second term.

Newsom’s presentation at a local Independence Day picnic is part of an effort by Biden’s reelection campaign and the White House to convince party activists and the broader electorate that Biden is up to the task.

“This is a serious moment in American history. It’s not complicated,” Newsom told Van Buren County Democrats at a Fourth of July picnic. “What I have to convince you is don’t be fatalistic, don’t fall prey to all this negativity. … Do more. Worry less.”

Newsom’s request underscores the precarious balance for Democrats and party vice chairmen like the 56-year-old governor.

Newsom has long been a key surrogate for Biden’s campaign and was among the governors who threw their support behind the president after a private meeting at the White House on Wednesday.

Still, Newsom himself has been mentioned as one possible replacement should Biden step down and allow an open convention when Democratic delegates meet in Chicago next month.

The governor has consistently dodged questions about possible outcomes, including whether he would support Vice President Kamala Harris, a fellow Californian, for the nomination if Biden drops out of the race.

“I don’t even like to play with hypotheses because last night was about eliminating all doubt and ambiguity,” he said, referring to Biden’s conversation with Democratic governors.

“And then we start running in different directions, zigzagging and all that kind of speculation. And that gets in the way of progress.”

Newsom acknowledged it’s been “a tough couple of weeks” and admitted he had to scrap his planned talking points when he had to address reporters after the debate in Atlanta.

But he said Biden reassured him and other Democratic governors at the White House last Wednesday, where the president acknowledged his failure but was determined to win his rematch with Trump.

“That was the Joe Biden I remember two weeks ago. That was the Joe Biden I remember two years ago,” Newsom said. “That’s the Joe Biden I want to see re-elected as president of the United States, and I mean that.”

Biden acknowledged to the governors that he needs to get more sleep and limit evening activities so he can go to bed earlier and be fit for work, according to three people familiar with the meeting.

Newsom did not elaborate on that explanation during his 15-minute speech, telling reporters afterward that Biden referred to late nights “with a smile on his face.”

‘It was more of a rhetorical framework of just being fit and rested, because he was burning out on both ends “That last one the last 10 days or so (before the debate), and I think that’s what he was reflecting,” Newsom said. “It wasn’t literally ‘at 8 o’clock I’m going to do things differently,’ it was more figurative.”

Newsom said it’s OK for a “president to recognize that he’s only human,” adding that people are “reading between the lines too much” when it comes to what Biden says about his agenda.

Despite the governor’s confidence, leading Democrats still worry about whether Biden can recover politically.

The president’s advisers and allies agree that the coming days are crucial. Biden has a busy, visible program in store that could counteract any decline in public confidence and further fuel voter concerns that he is too old for another term.

On Friday, Biden campaigned in Wisconsin, a key battleground he won in 2020, before sitting down with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos. The interview failed to assuage concerns about Biden’s fitness, as he gave long, rambling, and nonsensical answers to many questions.

Biden spoke in a somewhat disorganized manner at times during the interview. According to ABC, the interview was broadcast in its entirety and unaltered.

At one point, he began explaining his debate performance, then moved on to a New York Times poll, then pivoted to Trump’s lies during the debate. Biden also referred to the midterm “red wave” as happening in 2020, rather than 2022.

Asked how he might turn the race around, Biden argued that a key would be large, energetic rallies like the one he held Friday in Wisconsin. Reminded that Trump typically draws larger crowds, the president attacked his opponent.

“Trump is a pathological liar,” Biden said, accusing Trump of botching the federal response to the COVID pandemic and failing to create jobs. “Have you ever seen anything that Trump did that benefited someone else and not him?”

Biden plans to hold a wide-ranging press conference during next week’s NATO summit in Washington.

Newsom, meanwhile, is trying to urge party members to embrace Biden’s record and values.

“I believe in this man. I believe in his character. I believe he’s been one of the most transformative presidents in our collective lifetime,” Newsom said.

“We are so good at focusing on what is wrong and not celebrating what is right.”