California Gov. Gavin Newsom refused to answer whether he’d challenge President Joe Biden in 2024, provoking more intrigue as Democrats worry about the 46th President’s ability to mount a campaign.
Driving the news: During an interview with Fox News’s Sean Hannity, Newsom sidestepped the question and declined to confirm or deny whether he had been approached to run for president.
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- Newsom’s potential candidacy has been a topic of discussion for some time, but he sought to quell rumors by endorsing President Biden’s re-election bid in April.
The big picture: Recent polls have shown that only 32% of voters believed Biden possessed the mental sharpness required to be commander-in-chief, and just 58% of Democrats thought he should run for re-election.
- In contrast, Newsom has been vocal in his support for Biden, stating that he believes the president is sharp enough for the job.
- Newsom has also been making waves by attacking Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for shipping migrants to Sacramento from the US-Mexico border and proposing a “28th Amendment” restricting gun ownership.
- He has also praised former President Donald Trump for his response to the COVID-19 pandemic, saying that Trump “played no politics during COVID with California.”
What he said: “I see where you’re going with that. No — I’m not answering,” Newsom told Hannity in the interview set to debut Monday night.
- “Housing costs are too high. Our regulatory thickets are too problematic. Localism has been too impactful, meaning people locally are pushing back against new housing starts and construction. I’ve been here four years,” Newsom said of his record in the Golden State. “I can’t make up for the fact, in 2005, we had a historic number of homeless under a Republican administration. We own this, Sean. I’m not — I’m not here defending this.”
