California Gov. Gavin Newsom argued he is “not worthy” of consideration for the 2024 Democratic presidential nomination because President Joe Biden “deserves it,” during an interview with NewsNation host Chris Cuomo on Tuesday.
After Cuomo asked Newsom, “Why don’t you run?” the governor replied, “Because I believe in this guy.”
“You think Joe Biden is the best the Democrats can do?” questioned Cuomo, to which Newsom responded:
I hope you can differentiate ’cause your BS meter is one of the best, ’cause you’ve been around this all your life. I don’t like this guy, I have deep respect, reverence for Joe Biden as a person, his character, his decency, and his capacity to do great things. That’s why. I’m not worthy of that conversation. This guy deserves it and we, as members of the party, deserve to have his back.
Cuomo went on to grill Newsom on his support for Vice President Kamala Harris, noting, “The only plan B, of course, punitively, is the vice president, Kamala Harris, polling is nowhere. You say she’s the absolute best person to be vice president.”
“Of course she is,” argued Newsom:
On the basis of being able to lay claim to the success and the record of the Biden administration. You can’t claim that, I can’t claim that. The Biden-Harris administration. She gets to talk about the 13.5 million jobs. She gets to talk about $1.7 trillion reduction of the deficit and a trillion dollars as part of the debt deal. She gets to talk about the success of the Infrastructure Act and the CHIPS and Science Act. She gets to talk about the bipartisan dealmaking of this administration because she’s a member of the administration.
After Cuomo asked, “You think she strengthens the ticket? She doesn’t weaken the ticket?” Newsom concluded, “I think by definition. She has the ability as a member of the administration to make the case better than any other Democrat. So if that’s plan B, that’s the best plan B our party has.”
Newsom added, however, that he was “not interested in plan B because we’ve got the guy running the show that’s on the train and we all need to get on the train with him.”
Many have speculated that Newsom could enter the Democratic primary against Biden or replace the president if he pulled out of the race.
In June, during an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity, Newsom refused to say how many people had urged him to run against Biden, while in August, an unnamed Harris adviser hit out against Newsom’s “disrespectful” plan to debate Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis.
“Joe Biden is running with Kamala Harris. That’s the Democratic ticket,” the adviser told NBC News.
Watch above via NewsNation.
