Gavin Newsom Makes His Move?

Clues in Newsom’s recent budget proposal hint that the California governor may yet have presidential hopes for 2024.

“Expanding California’s global climate leadership, Governor Gavin Newsom today established a new international climate partnership with New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. California and New Zealand signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) to tackle the climate crisis, reduce pollution, and bolster the clean economy while emphasizing community resilience and partnership with indigenous leaders.” June 4, 2022. (Photo: Office of the Governor of California)

“Democrats have no Biden backup plan for 2024, despite age concerns,” Jeff Mason lamented for Reuters on December 1, 2023. “The Democratic Party has no Plan B if President Joe Biden decided for any reason to halt his 2024 re-election campaign, and a sudden need to replace him as its standard-bearer would spark a messy intraparty battle.”

“Despite weak poll numbers and questions, including from some Democrats, about his age, Biden has stuck to his plan to seek a second term after clearing the field of serious Democratic primary challengers when he announced in April that he was running again,” noted Mason.

The Democratic Party proper may not have a Biden backup plan, but that doesn’t mean no one does.

While he has been a prolific cheerleader for the Biden Administration, California Gavin Newsom has also been running what some have called a shadow campaign for president over the past year.

It is worth noting that when Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping took the rare step of visiting the United States last year, it was to California — and Gavin Newsom — he went, rather than to the White House and incumbent President Joe Biden.