Gavin Newsom vows to ‘never turn his back’ on Biden as he tries to suppress talk of shadow campaign in Michigan

California Governor Gavin Newsom remains committed to the Biden-Harris presidential nomination for 2024, despite admitting during a Democratic campaign rally on Independence Day in Michigan that the presidential debate against former President Donald Trump “did not go as well” as Biden had hoped.

“President Biden has proudly asked and commissioned me to fly from California to Georgia immediately after this debate to represent the campaign,” Newsom told a crowd of supporters at the Van Buren Dems BBQ for Biden-Harris in South Haven, Michigan, on Thursday.

“I had a lot of talking points in mind, and if you saw me, you may have noticed that I didn’t bring them with me. And that’s to illustrate the obvious point – things didn’t go as well as the campaign had hoped, and obviously they didn’t go as well as President Biden had hoped,” he said.

Newsom – who has vehemently denied allegations that he is running a “shadow campaign” to succeed Biden – was one of 20 Democratic governors who had a private meeting with Biden at the White House on Wednesday evening that lasted about an hour and a half.

“It could have taken two or three hours,” Newsom said of the meeting. “And I mean that with absolute conviction. That was the Joe Biden I remember from two weeks ago. That was the Joe Biden I remember from two years ago. That is the Joe Biden I want to re-elect as President of the United States.”

The aim of the meeting was to strengthen support among the party leadership and prevent a waning confidence in Biden’s candidacy.

Democratic governors who planned to attend in person included Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, chairman of the Democratic Governors Association, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Maryland Governor Wes Moore and New York Governor Kathy Hochul, among others.

Newsom added that he has “gone everywhere” the government has asked him to and has “taken on every task, big and small, because I believe in this man.”

“I believe in his character,” he said.

The Golden State governor will also travel to New Hampshire next week to serve as keynote speaker at a Democratic campaign rally, fueling speculation that he may be preparing to step in should Biden drop out of the 2024 presidential race.

New Hampshire is a crucial swing state in the general election, and Newsom, considered a key surrogate for President Biden’s 2024 re-election campaign, will also campaign for the president and other Democrats across the ballot during his stay in the Granite State, according to sources familiar with his plans.

Following Biden’s lackluster performance during the debate against Trump, Newsom assured reporters in the spin room that he remains firmly behind Biden – who has faced considerable criticism even from members of his own party for his lackluster performance.

“I will never turn my back on President Biden,” Newsom said Thursday in a comment apparently aimed at dispelling rumors that he was running a shadow campaign. “I don’t know of any Democrat in my party who would do that. And especially after tonight, we stand behind him.”

Newsom added: “I’ve spent a lot of time with him. I know Joe Biden. I know what he’s accomplished over the last three and a half years. I know what he’s capable of. And I have no fears.”

Ahead of the first presidential debate of the 2024 election cycle last week, Biden’s mental state was at the center of political discourse after a sensational Washington Journal report – which the White House denied – revealed that many lawmakers on Capitol Hill had doubts about Biden’s mental state after many said his age was evident in private meetings.