For about the past month, California Gov. Gavin Newsom has been essentially the face of Joe Biden’s reelection campaign: he’s traveled the country holding rallies, acted as the main campaign surrogate on cable news, and been the embattled president’s main defender as nearly every Democrat elected official of consequence called for Biden to step aside.
But when Biden suddenly (but not unexpectedly) dropped out Sunday afternoon, Newsom essentially went missing. Within minutes of the announcement, Sacramento journalist Ashley Zavala reported that Newsom had canceled his appearance at the U.S. Ninth Circuit judicial conference scheduled for Monday in Sacramento but that no reason was given by event organizers.
JUST IN: Gov. Newsom cancels his appearance at U.S. Ninth Circuit judicial conference scheduled in Sacramento tomorrow.
No reason provided by organizers of the event, waiting to hear back from his office.
— Ashley Zavala (@ZavalaA) July 21, 2024
Given how strongly Newsom feels about keeping the Ninth Circuit judges activist, and how upset he’s been about some of their rulings over the last few years, there would have to be an extremely important reason for him to cancel such an appearance.
A few hours later, Zavala reported that she’d gotten no response from either Newsom’s office or his campaign about the reason for the cancellation or whether he’ll endorse Vice President Kamala Harris (who he’s known for decades when both were coming up in San Francisco Democrat politics) or not.
Hours later, still no official reason for Gov. Newsom canceling his public appearance tomorrow in Sacramento. His campaign and office have gone dark, not responding to repeated questions, including if he’ll endorse Kamala for nomination.
Newsom had tweeted kind words for Joe Biden’s essential going-away party, but was otherwise silent for hours:
President Biden has been an extraordinary, history-making president — a leader who has fought hard for working people and delivered astonishing results for all Americans. He will go down in history as one of the most impactful and selfless presidents.
That’s curiously similar to the statement released to Newsom’s close political ally and aunt-by-marriage, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, and similarly omitted any mention of Kamala Harris.
READ MORE: Pelosi Chimes In on Biden Stepping Away From 2024 Reelection Bid
At least one question was answered, for now, just as this article was going to publish: Newsom tweeted his endorsement of Harris to be the Democrat party’s presidential nominee.
Tough. Fearless. Tenacious.
With our democracy at stake and our future on the line, no one is better to prosecute the case against Donald Trump’s dark vision and guide our country in a healthier direction than America’s Vice President, @KamalaHarris.
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) July 21, 2024
Newsom’s political allies Bill and Hillary Clinton endorsed Harris shortly after Biden dropped out while, interestingly, Barack Obama didn’t mention any specific person in his comments on the matter. At this point, it looks like Newsom is making an effort to look like a team player while hoping the party elites quickly realize how untenable a Kamala Harris candidacy is and ask either him or Hillary to ride in and save the day. One look at Newsom’s mentions on Twitter shows that there are a lot of liberals who don’t believe Harris can win and would much rather have Newsom atop the ticket.
If we’ve learned anything over the last few weeks, it’s that everything is subject to change in a quick hurry. It’s going to be a fast-paced month or so between now and the time the Democrat National Convention adjourns in Chicago.
UPDATED 8:11 PM EDT July 21, 2024: Sources tell RedState that Gavin Newsom has cancelled all appointments for the next 2-3 days in addition to cancelling Monday’s speech at the Ninth Circuit judicial conference. According to these sources, Newsom will be working with Bill and Hillary Clinton on a plan for Hillary win the nomination during the open convention.
