Gavin Newsom defends President Joe Biden post-debate: ‘We’ve got to have his back’

Gov. Gavin Newsom defended president Joe Biden as a confident, energetic and competent leader as a contrast to former President Donald Trump during the first Presidential debate of the 2024 general election.

Newsom, a possible contender for president in 2028, has been tapped as a Biden surrogate leading up to the November presidential election, when Biden will face off for a second time against Trump.

The Biden campaign was aiming to dispel concerns about the 81-year-old incumbent’s age and competency during the event. But after the president repeatedly stammered and trailed off during debate responses, television networks reported Democratic operatives were worried about Biden’s ability to successfully campaign.

Post-debate, Newsom brushed off concerns about Biden’s performance, saying “we’ve all had those nights” and that the president has repeatedly pushed through concerns about his age.

“He never gives up. He’s never giving up, fighting for us, fighting for democracy, our future kids, our grandkids. So we’ve got to have his back in this respect. And yeah, I hope he does come back, and I hope he is back on the stage in another debate,” he told MSNBC’s Alex Wagner in a post-debate interview.

Newsom was already considered a potential candidate in 2028 but after Biden’s poor debate performance, the 56-year-old governor was mentioned on multiple networks as a possible replacement on the Democratic ticket.

Reince Priebus, former chairman of the Republican National Committee, told ABC’s David Muir Democratic figures including Newsom and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer are “probably waiting by the phone” after Biden’s performance.

Still, Newsom remained a staunch defender of Biden.

“We must have the back of the President of the United States, Joe Biden, at this critical moment,” he said. “And focus on tomorrow, focus on the future, focus on the vision that will ignite this country moving forward.”

“(Trump) wants to bring us back to a pre-1960s world (regarding) voting rights, civil rights, LGBTQ rights, women’s rights, access to contraception,” he said. “That’s what we need to talk about. That’s what’s on the ballot: democracy, the fate and future of this country.”

Before the debate, Newsom said “President Biden is confident. He’s got a record and he’s got a vision for the future.” At the same time he criticized Trump’s name calling as “the elevation of the maturity of Donald Trump as he’s gotten older.”

Newsom also denounced the “weaponization of clips” of the President stumbling through words or tripping at public events.

In a recent example, CNN anchor Erin Burnett asked Newsom about a video from a Hollywood fundraiser which shows former President Barack Obama grabbing Biden’s hand to lead him offstage. Newsom, who said he was “four feet away” from the stage, defended the president and said Biden had been on his feet for many hours that day and had just returned from the G7 summit in Italy.

When asked about his praise for and cooperation with Trump on emergencies like COVID-19 and wildfires, Newsom said he’ll “work with anyone who wants to advance the cause of this country, my state and the world we’re trying to build,” but also said Trump “delivered because we had to go a long way to kiss the proverbial ring.”

But that relationship has deteriorated since Trump left office, he said.

“He’s calling me Newscum,” the governor said of Trump. “I think my 7th grade friend called me Newscum. That’s the elevation of the maturity of Donald Trump as he’s gotten older.”

The governor was also asked about Biden’s record on immigration and the crush of unauthorized crossings at the border in recent months. He accused congressional Republicans of torpedoing a bipartisan immigration deal after Trump called for its failure.

It’s a “failure of Congress to work with the President of the United States,” he said, specifically calling out Republican Speaker Mike Johnson. “(Biden) put out a plan and they refused to negotiate.”

Newsom, a self-described border governor, also said border crossings are down since Biden signed an executive order that restricts immigration.

Democratic Congressman Robert Garcia of Long Beach was also on hand as a Biden surrogate during the debate.