California Gov. Newsom reassures jittery West Michigan Democrats after Biden’s shaky debate

Gov. Gavin Newsom campaigning for President Joe Biden in Holland on July 4, 2024 | Sarah Leach

Updated, 6:43 a.m., 7/6/24

California Gov. Gavin Newsom spent his Independence Day reassuring West Michigan voters that despite a rocky debate performance, President Joe Biden is “all in.”

Newsom made two stops in Michigan, a formal stop at an Independence Day picnic in South Haven and then a barbecue hosted by the Altamirano family in Holland. 

During his 15 minutes of formal comments, Newsom told supporters that he and several other Democratic governors from around the country met with Biden to discuss concerns over his rocky debate performance on June 27 with former President Donald Trump, the presumed Republican nominee.

“I do come here by way of the White House,” Newsom told the crowd of about 350 on Thursday. “Last night … we sat down, 20 of us or so Democratic governors from all across the states, including your governor [Gretchen Whitmer], spending time with the president and hearing him say the words, ‘I’m all in’ and his commitment and resolve to keep this election going, this candidacy moving forward.”

Newsom and Whitmer have been among the Democrats political analysts have suggested to replace Biden on the ticket, should he end up withdrawing, although there are logistical challenges to replacing the president. Most observers agree that Vice President Kamala Harris, who was also present at the White House meeting on Wednesday, would have the fewest hurdles.

Following the meeting, Whitmer posted on social media: “.@JoeBiden is our nominee. He is in it to win it and I support him.”

Newsom characterized the meeting as a frank conversation — “no one was sugarcoating anything” — where one governor simply asked the president, “What happened?”

“He goes, ‘I’ve been thinking a lot about this. I gotta be honest with you, I used to be able to do two trips overseas. I used to be able to sleep just a few hours a night, time changes, prepare for debates, deal with foreign issues, be on the phone. And I, frankly, took things for granted,’” Newsom said, adding Biden said he needed to be “more responsible” with his schedule and his limitations.

“And there wasn’t one governor, not one, who wasn’t shaking their heads saying, ‘Oh, Mr. President; I get it,” Newsom said.

Newsom said national media outlets have latched on to Biden’s recent quip that he needed to be home by 8 p.m., generating speculation from pundits about his age and capabilities.

“He was literally joking,” Newsom said of the comment. “He was reflecting on the debate. And you saw what happened with that. It got weaponized.”

Newsom said Biden is “taking a hard and sober, critical look” at his performance. And rather than memorizing statistics and debate talking points, he wants to return to the core mission of why he ran in 2020.

“It’s what I imagine many of you say around the kitchen table. … It’s one thing to talk about the list of accomplishments, but what’s the compelling vision? What are we fighting for? What’s this election all about?” Newsom said. “And that is fundamentally the frame that I think all of us need to advance with some sobriety.”

He said Biden understands that he needs to connect with the voters who propelled him into the presidency four years ago.

“Joe Biden, one-on-one, will charm anyone … even his worst critics,” Newsom said. “He’s just so deeply personal, and that’s the guy we kind of feel like we’re missing a little bit, feeling people’s pain, connecting on a human, empathetic level.”

Newsom took a handful of questions from the crowd after his remarks, most notably from a supporter who asked what Democrats can do “to restore our confidence following the debate,” observing that “people are shell-shocked right now.”

Newsom said supporters don’t need to be concerned.

“My job, and I hope to the extent I can offer at least one piece of advice, is to calm those fears and to communicate that he’s not in denial about what happened. The campaign is not in denial about what happened, and he’s deeply reflective about it, and he deeply understands the consequences of falling short, and he believes in his soul 100% that he could beat this guy in November. And I could not agree more. But he cannot beat him without each and every one of you,” he said.

A handful of national news outlets latched onto the “shellshocked” comment, one labeling Holland Democrats as “downtrodden.”

That’s not the case in Ottawa County, local Democrats say, pointing to Ottawa County being the focus of national headlines over the past 18 months after far-right fundamentalist group Ottawa Impact leveraged frustrations over county and state COVID-19 mitigation measures to attain a six-seat controlling majority on the 11-member county board of commissioners. 

After coming into power in 2023, the group has made a series of controversial decisions that have led to five lawsuits within 14 months and a brief investigation from the Michigan Attorney General’s Office over alleged Open Meetings Act violations that did not result in criminal charges.

Larry Jackson, chair of the Ottawa County Democrats, said it’s important to understand the backdrop of current politics has supercharged a progressive countermovement against Ottawa Impact and its slate of candidates this fall.

“I mean, they just don’t have an understanding,” Jackson said of national political reporters. “Even the work that the local media has put in to change that narrative about the changing of the guard [Biden dropping out of the race].  … Everybody here understands that. People who are working here, organizing here, and that live here, actually know what’s happening on the ground here.”

Chris Kleinjans, the Democrat who defeated Ottawa Impact Republican Commissioner Lucy Ebel in a May 7 recall election, said the nuances of being a progressive in West Michigan are important to understand — and that he’s more energized than ever after defeating his opponent by a 20% margin.

“West Michigan has been, traditionally and historically conservative. It takes work to be a Democrat out here. You are used to pushing a boulder up a hill,” he said, but noted things are changing with current political headwinds. 

“I tell this to everybody, it is so cool to be a Democrat in Ottawa County right now, because we are the adults in the room. And unless you’ve been around to get your teeth kicked in being a Democrat in Ottawa County for a while, you don’t understand how this is an ascendant opportunity for this party to really show what it’s about for a change in a county that is changing rapidly,” Kleinjans said.

He said the national narrative that questions Biden’s mental fitness is unfortunate, but he thought Newsom’s comments were effective at reassuring supporters.

“I think he came off as sincere. I think he came off intentional. And I think he came off as reminding us of what we needed to be reminded of,” he said. “I’m really bummed that the national media has kind of just decided that talking about a former president with a bunch of felonies, who’s just been given the keys to the hen house by the Supreme Court isn’t exciting anymore. But nevertheless, I think the Democrats in Ottawa County really absorbed what the governor was saying.”

This story has been updated with the correct name of the family who hosted Newsom.

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