US election: Democrat Gavin Newsom looks best placed to replace Biden

He was there to cheer on President Joe Biden before his debate with former President Donald Trump. “Biden is confident," Newsom told reporters. “He’s got a record and he’s got a vision for the future."

A couple of painful hours later, after a debate in which Biden, his voice raspy and halting, looked every bit of his 81 years, that vision for the future seemed cloudy. Biden’s frail appearance led to immediate and widespread speculation that he would be pushed to decline the Democratic nomination. And that kind of talk, in turn, leads quickly to Newsom.

Also read: Joe Biden to drop out of US Presidential race against Donald Trump? US President turns to family, decision likely soon

Of the many prominent Democrats with aspirations for higher office, Newsom is arguably best equipped—in fund-raising, messaging and campaign infrastructure, to step up in an emergency. And this is, by all indications, one for the party. 

The 90 minutes that Biden spent on stage with Trump, live before millions of viewers, served to reinforce what polls have indicated since Biden decided to run for re-election: Most voters believe he is too old to be president.

The panic among Democratic Party insiders could ease in coming days if post-debate polling doesn’t turn out to be as dire as many suspect. But if the party is looking for a replacement, Newsom is an obvious choice. Fellow Californian Vice President Kamala Harris could do the job, of course. 

But polling typically shows Harris with high unfavourable numbers and, if Biden’s candidacy goes south, her ties to the president may be more trouble than help.

Meanwhile, Newsom, governor of the most populous US state, has long appeared to be running a sort of shadow campaign as Biden’s backup. He has emerged as one of the president’s most effective and telegenic surrogates, a frequent presence on cable news and aggressive on social media.

Newsom hasn’t shied away from the culture wars, winning fans in some Democratic circles. For example, in a splashy debate last fall on Fox News against his favourite Republican opponent, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Newsom called out DeSantis for his policies banning books, whitewashing African-American history and targeting transgender student athletes. “You attack vulnerable communities," Newsom told DeSantis. “You’re nothing but a bully. I understand that intimidating and humiliating people, that’s your calling card."

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Now in his second and last term as governor, Newsom also has campaign cash and access to more. He has used his fund-raising prowess to support Democratic candidates running in ‘red’ Republican states and to push solidly liberal causes, such as abortion rights.

Newsom also has been raising his profile overseas, much to the aggravation of many who want his attention in California. Last month, he was at the Vatican to talk with Pope Francis about climate change. Last year, he met Chinese leader Xi Jinping and also visited Israel. Closer home, he has been back and forth to the White House. He’s doing that thing that all presidential hopefuls do: He is working on a memoir.

Newsom has dismissed speculation that he is running for president. At the debate, he didn’t change his tune.

Cornered by a scrum of reporters, he was asked if he was “ready to replace Joe Biden." Newsom called the idea “a non sequitur." Asked whether he would urge Biden to reconsider running. “Absolutely not," Newsom told them. “I have his back 100 percent."

It’s a measure of the press frenzy caused by the debate that, a few minutes after that, Newsom was asked yet again, this time on MSNBC, whether the debate had shaken the presidential race. Newsom shook his head angrily. “We’ve got to go in and got to keep our heads high," he said. “We’ve got to have the back of this President. You don’t turn your back because of one performance. 

Also read: Would Gavin Newsom beat Trump? Don’t bet on it

And what kind of party does that?" A better question—and one that Newsom should consider—is what kind of party nominates a candidate who most Americans are convinced is too old to handle the pressures of the presidency—and a candidate who could very well lose to a would-be autocrat who traffics in lies?

The stakes are too high.

Newsom on Thursday told reporters that it’s unhelpful to our democracy to “go down these rabbit holes" about replacing Biden. But then he added: “This country, the world, they need us right now to step up and that’s exactly what I intend to do."

Many Democrats would no doubt be relieved if he did. ©bloomberg