SOUTH HAVEN, Mich. (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom has delivered a forceful defense of the embattled president Joe Biden Thursday, telling Michigan Democrats that the 81-year-old president had the record and energy to win a second term despite widespread doubts about his ability to campaign or govern effectively.
Newsom’s speech at a local Independence Day picnic is part of an effort by Biden’s reelection campaign and the White House to reassure party activists and the wider electorate Biden is up to the task after appearing perturbed in his debate against former President Donald Trump.
“This is a serious moment in American history. It’s not complicated,” Newsom told Van Buren County Democrats, turning their attention to the prospects of another Trump presidency. “What I need to convince you is don’t be fatalistic, don’t fall prey to all this negativity. … Do more. Worry less.”
Newsom’s call highlights the precarious balance between Democrats and party lieutenants like the 56-year-old governor: He has long been a top appointee to Biden’s campaign and was among the governors who rallied behind the president after a private session at the White House on Wednesday. Yet Newsom himself is among those mentioned as a potential replacement. Biden steps down, allows open convention when Democratic delegates meet in Chicago next month.
The governor sidestepped questions about those potential outcomes, including one about whether he would support the vice president. Kamala Harrisanother Californian, for the nomination if Biden drops out of the race.
What you need to know about the 2024 elections
“I don’t even like to play with hypotheticals, because last night was about sort of clearing up any doubt or ambiguity,” he said, referring to Biden’s session with Democratic governors. “And then we start running in different directions, zigzagging and all this kind of speculation. And that gets in the way of progress.”
Newsom acknowledged “a tough few weeks” in his remarks to picnic attendees, and he admitted he had to abandon his planned talking points when he faced reporters in Atlanta after the debate. But he said Biden reassured him and other Democratic governors Wednesday at the White House, where the president acknowledged his failure but expressed determination to win his rematch against Asset.
“That’s the Joe Biden I remember from two weeks ago. That’s the Joe Biden I remember from two years ago,” Newsom said. “That’s the Joe Biden I look forward to re-electing as president of the United States, and I mean that.”
Biden acknowledged to the governors that he needed to get more sleep and limit evening events so he could go to bed earlier and be in shape for his job, according to three people familiar with the meeting. The sources spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations.
Newsom did not respond to those explanations during his 15-minute speech. He later told reporters that Biden had referred to the late nights “with a smile.”
“It was more of a rhetorical framework of just being fit and rested, because it was burn it at both ends “It’s been about 10 days (before the debate) and I think that’s what it reflected,” Newsom said. “It wasn’t an ‘8 p.m. I’m going to do things differently,’ it was more of a figurative idea.”
Newsom said it was normal for a “president to acknowledge that he’s human” and added that people were “reading too much between the lines” of what Biden said about his schedule.
Newsom drew enthusiastic applause from the partisan crowd. One in attendance, Susan Kavanaugh, called his vision “timely.”
“I was really encouraged by his optimism and the fact that he spoke with sincerity, which reminds me a lot of Joe Biden.”
Despite the governor’s confidence, top Democrats remain concerned about Biden’s ability to bounce back politically. The president’s advisers and allies agree that the days ahead are critical, with Biden planning a visible and packed agenda that could stem any freefall in public confidence — or further reinforce voters’ concerns that he is too old for another term.
Biden is expected to campaign Friday in Wisconsin, a key battleground he won in 2020, and do an interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos. The show will air in prime time that night. He plans to be in Philadelphia on Sunday and hold a full news conference during the NATO summit in Washington next week.
Already this week, the president took advantage of a radio interview to highlight the voters’ choice and assert that Trump would be a disaster for American democracy and the economy.
Newsom echoed that framing in Michigan, urging party faithful to embrace Biden’s record and values. He noted sustained low unemployment, rising wages and major legislation to infrastructure spendingaddressing climate change and boosting U.S. manufacturing, in particular computer chips.
“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’re so good at focusing on what’s wrong and not celebrating what’s right.” ——
Barrow reported from Atlanta. Associated Press writer Seung Min Kim contributed from Washington.
