(NewsNation) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom told NewsNation host Chris Cuomo he will not be making a 2024 presidential run and will instead continue to back President Joe Biden.
“I have deep respect, reverence for Joe Biden as a person, his character, his decency and his capacity to do great things,” Newsom told Cuomo. “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.”
Newsom has been considered as a possible Democratic presidential contender by some analysts, but he has repeatedly said he will not run in 2024.
Even with his insistence he plans to stand behind Biden, some in the political arena have speculated Newsom was preparing to throw his hat in the ring if Biden does not run. As Newsom has recently delivered policy speeches and even said he would debate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, one of the top Republican presidential candidates, some strategists think this signals that Newsom is positioning himself to possibly slide into the presidential race.
At age 80, Biden is the oldest U.S. president. If reelected in 2024, he would be 86 at the end of his second term. Newsom’s comments to Cuomo come as multiple polls have shown a growing concern among voters over Biden’s age.
“At the end of the day, I’m about someone that can put the best team on the field. I’m for someone who actually can produce the best results,” Newsom said in defense of Biden. “I’ve seen two-and-a-half years of a master class of result making.”
He referenced the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, CHIPS and Science Act and gun reform legislation.
Republicans have zeroed in on the economy, though, pointing to high prices at the gas pump and grocery store as evidence Biden’s administration is failing the American people.
“It’s been a source of deep anxiety for me so much so that I started doing ads in Florida to sort of counter my frustration,” Newsom said of Democrats’ inability to message on their achievements. “(Republicans) are winning on the messaging, we’re reacting. Trans issues, all these issues, they sell fear and panic on the border, inflation, on crime, and they sell calm, and indifference on issues like climate change and public health.”
Newsom, a San Francisco native, first got involved in politics in 1995. Prior to being elected California’s governor in 2018, he served as San Francisco’s mayor and the lieutenant governor of California.