Gov. Gavin Newsom has largely served as a cheerleader on the sidelines of President Biden’s reelection bid this year, touting his record in the White House to Democratic donors and shutting down criticism of the president’s age on national news.

On Wednesday, Newsom was promoted to the starting lineup. During the Biden campaign, Newsom was deployed to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum in Simi Valley, the site of the Republican presidential debate, as the president’s chief defender and leader of the Democratic attack.

Before the debate began and after it concluded, Newsom held court amid reporters who answered every question asked. His appearance followed more than a dozen one-on-one media interviews held at a nearby hotel on Wednesday.

“This might be a vice presidential debate. These guys are being let down by Donald Trump. It’s not even close. It’s not even interesting,” Newsom said before the debate, adding that he was baffled that the candidates haven’t done more to stand up to Trump. .

“I enjoy defending our values ​​and freedom. I enjoy defending democracy. I enjoy exposing the hypocrisy of the other side, who demands freedom yet denies young women the right to reproductive care,” Newsom said of the anti-abortion stances. of the GOP candidates on stage.

The decision to tap him as a surrogate for Biden, who is charged with refuting a Republican narrative about the president’s failed leadership by touting the country’s economic growth over the past three years, underscores his exalted role within the re-election campaign. The strategy allows the president to capitalize on the governor’s strength as an unapologetic fighter for democratic values ​​and could put an end to speculation about Newsom’s 2024 presidential ambitions.

For Newsom, the role marks the culmination of his journey from rogue agitator who angered national Democrats last year when he said his allies had no plan against Republicans to a new position as a team player trying to coalesce support around Biden.

“It works to their mutual benefit,” said John Pitney, professor of politics at Claremont McKenna College. “Biden takes a potential party critic and turns him into an ally, and Newsom gets lavish national exposure. So it’s a win-win situation.”

The governor is careful not to get too far in front of the Democratic Party leader and has been keeping the president’s team informed about his many forays into national politics since last year, aides to both men said.

Biden’s campaign was announced before Newsom launched his “Campaign for Democracy” in March to support Democratic candidates across the country and raise his profile among national voters.

The governor’s team also spoke with Biden’s staff before his appearance on Sean Hannity’s show this summer, in which he fiercely defended the president.

At the time, the Biden campaign had already approached Newsom to serve on a committee of surrogates, which was formed shortly after the president announced his plans to run for re-election in April. His performance during the Hannity interview gave Biden’s team more confidence in Newsom’s effectiveness.

More recently, Newsom’s advisers contacted the president’s campaign before sending a formal proposal to Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis for a one-on-one debate.

The Florida governor’s debate, which Fox has announced will take place in late November, will give Newsom another chance to continue to show his support for the president, bash DeSantis on the national stage and show other Democrats how to to be able to vigorously and aggressively defend a progressive country. Weltblick.

Ahead of the presidential election, California’s governor has tried to define DeSantis to voters as a right-wing bully who wants to roll back abortion, immigration and LGTBQ+ rights. Before and after Wednesday’s debate, Newsom blasted DeSantis for his declining poll numbers, saying that while he challenged the Florida governor before the forum, it is “disqualifying” for DeSantis to do so because he was turning his attention away from running for office. the presidency.

“If you can give someone that easy, you can imagine what Kim Jong Un is [Vladimir] Putin could use this guy?,” Newsom said, referring to the leaders of North Korea and Russia.

Standing in a field of parsley in Ventura County on Tuesday to announce the president’s United Farm Workers endorsement, Biden campaign manager Julie Chvez Rodriguez called Newsom an asset to the campaign.

“He’s been extremely helpful in raising money, getting on the air and making sure people know what this president has done and what’s at stake in this election.”

Chvez Rodriguez said Newsom and other governors are particularly well positioned to talk about the benefits states receive from legislation such as the Inflation Reduction Act and the CHIPS and Science Act, both of which will ultimately send billions of dollars in federal aid to California.

While it’s possible that Newsom, with his young family and youthful enthusiasm, could inadvertently draw attention to the president’s age in comparison, Pitney said most voters are already aware that Biden is octogenarian.

This position continues to raise Newsom’s national profile and puts him in a prime position to step up if Biden is unable to continue his campaign for some reason. Newsom took advantage of the spotlight, even as he emphasized to anyone who asked that he was not running for president next year and that he was there at the request of the Biden campaign.

“I think it’s pretty clear that Biden will be the nominee unless there’s a medical problem,” Pitney said. ‘But both sides have very old men, and medical problems can arise. Newsom maintains his viability for a future role in the Democratic Party, whatever that may be.”

Newsom’s campaign for Biden came after he criticized the national Democratic Party last year for not doing enough to challenge the Republican agenda. While he was careful to say he was not talking about Biden, his comments irritated some in his party since the president is the leader.

Some of Newsom’s harshest criticism came after the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling last year in Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which allowed states to ban abortion for the first time in half a century.

‘We wouldn’t do that

Unpleasant

“Be the Democratic Party if we didn’t have disagreements about what we should do and how we should do it,” said Los Angeles-based Democratic strategist Danielle Cendejas.

. She

said her party’s candidates have previously been reluctant to lead on messages focused on reproductive rights

which proved to be a crucial issue in boosting Democrats in last year’s midterm elections.

“He was very outspoken and tried to push the party in a certain direction. I think he has always had an edge and a point. This is just part of who he is and

are

in his DNA, and I think he will have succeeded in 2022.”

Cendejas and other strategists noted that California has been on the policy front on some important issues, such as abortion or climate policy. Before Biden took office, the state played a leading role in refuting President Trump’s policies on issues including immigration.

“As governor of the state, it is a responsibility to defend the policies that we have promoted here in California, whether it is protecting reproductive rights, protecting workers’ rights and protecting workers’ rights.

by

a leader in climate action,” Cendejas said. “Newsom is the perfect person to say, ‘If we want to continue to see progress, Joe Biden is the answer.’”

After the debate in Simi Valley, Newsom spoke with Hannity

and cuddled

multiple

other

Fox News personalities, including Steve Hilton, planning a state ballot measure on homelessness. Former Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway showed reporters a photo of them together before saying it was malpractice for Biden to

Nieuwsom

as a surrogate.

Still, Newsom made multiple television appearances and reiterated one point: Biden won the debate, and all of these candidates are also running.

“Objectively, he was the winner tonight,” Newsom said. ‘That’s not a distortion. These guys have identified problems. And in fact, Biden has not only identified solutions, he has reached bipartisan agreements to begin the process of implementing them.”