The campaign to reelect President Joe Biden confirmed on Wednesday that Governor Gavin Newsom (D-CA) will appear at two events to stump for the 81-year-old president. The campaign stops come amid a rumored push to replace Biden following his poor debate performance against former President Donald Trump.
Newsom is first expected to travel to Pittsburgh when the Pennsylvania Capital-Star reported the Biden campaign confirmed “he’ll be stumping for the president” on Thursday.
The California governor is then expected at a Saturday morning rally, where the outlet reported Newsom will reportedly be “slamming Donald Trump’s attacks on our democracy,” alongside State Senator Steve Santarsiero (D-Bucks County), State Representative Tim Brennan (D-Bucks County), and Bucks County Commissioner Diane Ellis-Marseglia.
Newsom will also appear with Ashley Ehasz, the Democrat challenging U.S. Representative Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA-01), according to the Capital-Star.
The governor’s campaign stops in Pennsylvania come in addition to Newsom’s planned attendance at the “BBQ for Biden-Harris” event in Michigan on Independence Day.
Newsom also traveled to Washington, D.C. on Wednesday to meet with Biden and other Democratic governors. German-owned Politico noted the meeting came “amid the fallout from the president’s disastrous debate” last week.
While some Democrats have called for Biden to end his presidential campaign, including Representative Lloyd Doggett (D-TX-37) and former Representative Tim Ryan of Ohio, the California governor has rejected calls for him to replace the president.
Newsom stated during an interview after the debate, “You don’t turn your back because of one performance. What kind of party does that?” In a fundraiser last week, the governor reportedly called discussions about replacing Biden “unhelpful and unnecessary.”
Though Newsom maintains he does not want the Democratic Party’s nomination for president this year, he recently canceled his plans to push a California ballot initiative, with lawmakers claiming the governor was not focused on the state.
The governor’s office reportedly claimed Newsom’s decision to drop the question for the November ballot was prompted by a failure to make necessary changes prior to a deadline, but KCRA 3 reported that anonymous sources close to the effort claimed “the governor was not fully focused on getting the proposal on the ballot and failed to build a coalition” to push it through.
In the Pennsylvania race for U.S. Senate, Republican nominee Dave McCormick accused Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) of “lying to Pennsylvanians” about Biden’s fitness for office in a recent ad and previously urged officials in Biden’s cabinet to consider their “responsibility” to remove Biden from office using the 25th amendment if he cannot fulfill his duties.
A Monday poll showed that Trump led Biden by 4 percent in Pennsylvania. While Casey led McCormick by 3.7 percent, about 12 percent of respondents were undecided, which pollsters said placed the Republican “within striking distance” of the three-term incumbent.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
