HOOKSETT, N.H. , Governor Gavin Newsom The California mayor, who is a top surrogate for President Biden’s re-election campaign, is taking aim at the small but growing number of Democrats who are urging the president to end his re-election bid.
“That doesn’t help. Let’s be clear here,” Newsom said, speaking to reporters Monday in New Hampshire, the third swing state where the governor has campaigned on Biden’s behalf since Thursday.
After a disastrous performance in the first one-on-one debate with former President Trump a week and a half ago, Biden is trying to prove he still has the stamina and the presence of mind to handle one of the world’s toughest and most demanding jobs. And he’s trying to prove he has the guts to beat Trump.
Discussion It was a major setback for Biden, who at 81 is the oldest president in the country’s history. His halting speech and faltering answers in the Atlanta contest sparked widespread panic in the Democratic Party and led to public and private demands from within his own party that he step down as the party’s flag-bearer for 2024.
Biden tells congressional Democrats their call to exit will ‘only help Trump and hurt us’
President Biden and former President Trump debated on Thursday night. (Getty Images)
In the past week, six House Democrats have publicly said that met with biden to end the president’s re-election bid. And on Sunday, Fox News and other news organizations reported that four House Democrats who hold top positions on key committees said on a private conference call that the president needs to step down.
Asked by Fox News about the political damage such calls from within the party could cause, Newsom said, “Obviously, it’s not helpful, but it’s a matter of a handful of people.”
Some top House Democrats urge Biden to step down
And the governor emphasized that the “overwhelming majority of the caucus” is still supporting Biden. “In the last six days that I’ve been out, every single stop we’ve had to change the location because there were so many people showing up. They’re not giving in to pessimism, to fear, they’re showing up.”
In a letter sent to congressional Democrats on Monday upon his return from the July 4 holiday, Biden reiterated that he was “firmly committed to staying in this race” and argued that “the question of how to proceed has been well-deservedly debated over the past week. And now it’s time to end it. We have one job to do. And that’s to defeat Donald Trump.”
President Biden addresses a campaign rally in Madison, Wisconsin. (Photo: SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)
“Any weakness in the resolve or lack of clarity about the work ahead will only help Trump and hurt us,” the president said. “It’s time to come together, move forward as a unified party, and defeat Donald Trump.”
Newsom spoke to reporters shortly afterward. White House officials defended Biden’s health and denied that he was ever treated for Parkinson’s disease. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre responded to a series of questions Monday afternoon about recent reports that a top neurologist from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center met with Biden’s physician at the White House in January.
White House says president is not being treated for Parkinson’s disease
“Has the president been treated for Parkinson’s? No,” she told reporters after being pressed further on the matter. “Is he being treated for Parkinson’s? No, no. Is he on medication for Parkinson’s? No. So, those are the things I can give you full details about.”
Asked if he had any concerns about Biden’s cognitive abilities, Newsom replied, “I do not.”
California Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom speaks to Fox News and other news organizations during a meeting with reporters in Hooksett, New Hampshire, on July 8, 2024. (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)
“I’ve spent as much time with him as or more than any other governor in the country,” Newsom insisted. “I’ve spent a lot of time with him privately, been with him in many public places. I was with him just a few days ago with other governors. Talked to him on the phone late at night and early in the morning, in many stressful situations and very normal conversations. And no, I have no doubt about that.”
Some national polls conducted solely after the debate and released last week showed multiple danger signs for the president — including Trump widening his single-digit lead over Biden and deepening Americans’ concerns about whether Biden is up to the task of running the country.
Trump gains lead in post debate poll after Biden’s poor performance
But a Bloomberg-Morning Consult poll released over the weekend indicated that Biden was gaining on Trump in some key electoral states that will likely determine the outcome of the presidential election.
Despite his denials, Newsom’s name continues to surface in media reports as a possible replacement if the president changes his mind and decides to end his re-election campaign.
Asked if it was a distraction, the governor said: “Of course it is a distraction.”
“Look. This is done on purpose. I know how these people operate,” Newsom alleged, referring to conservative media. “This is all done on purpose to create a little mishegos (a Yiddish word for crazy or foolish behavior or activity).”
“I don’t take it personally. I don’t take it seriously, except that sometimes I believe other people take it more seriously than they need to,” Newsom said.
He argued, “I think this is deliberate misinformation and it can be very effective, and we have to counter it and that’s why I’m here.”
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If Biden steps down, Vice President Kamala Harris would be the leading contender to replace him.
Asked whether Harris — who served as California’s attorney general and a U.S. senator from the Golden State before being elected vice president — could beat Trump, Newsom said, “I have no doubt about it.”
But he also said that “it’s a hypothetical” and “I don’t expect it to happen.”
California Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom, President Biden’s top surrogate, speaks to voters at a highway rest area in Hooksett, New Hampshire, July 8, 2024. (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)
Newsom spoke to reporters after the meeting at a highway rest area in Hooksett. new Hampshire.
Earlier, the governor met privately with Ray Buckley, the longtime chairman of the New Hampshire Democratic Party, and a group of activists in Concord.
Later, Newsom headed to a fundraising event in Manchester for Democratic state lawmakers running in elections this fall.
Get the latest 2024 campaign updates, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital Election Center,
