Gavin Newsom and wife's recent media blitz spark speculation that Governor ... trends now
California Gov. Gavin Newsom and his wife Jennifer have been making the rounds on news channels as they also give exclusive interviews to different newspapers and magazines — fueling speculation the Democrat may challenge President Joe Biden in 2024.
In recent weeks, the California governor, 55, has seized on a fight with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a GOP presidential candidate thought to be former President Donald Trump's biggest competition, over his decision to fly migrants to the Golden State — even threatening possible charges against DeSantis.
He has also conducted a rare sit-down interview with FOX News' Sean Hannity, in which he refused to answer whether he was planning to run for president.
And his wife, Jennifer, recently spoke up about the 'traumas' that have shaped her life.
All of this comes amid anxiety within the Democratic party about Biden's age and low popularity, with a recent DailyMail.com poll finding that half of all Democrats think the president is too old for a second term in office.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom and his wife, Jennifer, have been gaining national attention in recent weeks
Some are now speculating that the 55-year-old lawmaker may challenge President Joe Biden in the presidential election
'I buy that he supports the president, but I also think that he wants to be there in case, God forbid, there needs to be an alternative if something happens to the president or if somebody else mounts a challenge, I think he'll be right there,' Democratic strategist Steven Maviglio said of the California governor.
'I mean [former Gov.] Jerry Brown gave him some advice in the news a few months ago, "Hey if you want to run, run,"' Maviglio told The Hill.
'He hasn't taken that advice, and feels he can sort of run a shadow candidacy, while also being the carrier of the message that Democrats want to talk about... It doesn't hurt him at all politically.'
Maviglio explained that Newsom's approach attacking Republicans in recent weeks can be helpful for Biden, as the California governor can say things the president cannot.
'Biden's approach is what we saw on the debt ceiling bill was trying to... consolidate people,' he said. 'Biden can't lash out at Trump the way Newsom is. He can't lash out at DeSantis in the style and manner as DeSantis.'
But Newsom can, and has.
He called DeSantis' so-called 'migrant flights' a 'stunt' and slammed the move as 'embarrassing' and 'pathetic' in an interview with Sean Hannity on Monday.
Authorities in Florida have hired private planes to boot out alleged illegals from Florida or elsewhere and dispatch them to mainly left-leaning states across the U.S.
On Tuesday (June 6), officials there acknowledged they were behind two such planes that sent 36 migrants to California.
They had not set foot on Floridan soil, but were moved were moved from Texas to New Mexico and then flown to Sacramento, the state capital.
'Out of the goodness of his heart, he just wanted to help people? Give me a break, Sean,' the California Governor angrily replied to Hannity's line of questioning as he said he would happily debate the Florida governor.
DeSantis later responded by saying Newsom should stop 'pussyfooting around' and just jump into the 2024 race.
But when asked about the possibility by Hannity, the lawmaker declined to answer.
Still, that interview seemed to have impressed some strategists.
'His interview with Hannity might have been the best I've ever seen him.' said Dan Schur, a former Republican strategist who is now a professor at University of California Berkeley and University of Southern California.
'Normally when Newsom engages in national politics, he tends to sound very bitter and very angry and somewhat divisive. But he came across very well in the Hannity interview to a point where Hannity actually showed him some significant respect.'
Democrats also say Newsom's attacks on DeSantis are being applauded nationally — even in Florida.
'I think they've been received by Democrats in Florida the same way they've been received by Democrats across the country — extraordinarily welcome and well-received,' Fernand Amandi, a Democrat pollster in Miami who worked on both Obama presidential campaigns, told The Hill.
'I think what's interesting is the same way that Ron DeSantis is trying to portray his candidacy as "Make America Florida," you see Gavin Newsom as the anti-DeSantis, in essence saying "Make America California."'
Over the past week, Newsom gave a rare sit-down interview to FOX News' Sean Hannity
Newsom also spoke out about Florida Gov Ron DeSantis' migrant flights to California in an interview on NBC's The Today Show
Florida officials confirmed that DeSantis flew migrants from Texas to California earlier this month
Since then, Newsom announced that he is working with a Texas sheriff to gather enough evidence to potentially bring charges against DeSantis, claiming
