California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), one of several high-profile Democratic politicians seen as a possible replacement for President Biden should he leave the presidential race, slammed former President Trump on Thursday, saying he “wants to take us back to a pre-1960s world.”
Newsom then said that when it comes to “voting rights, civil rights, LGBTQ rights,” the former president “wants” the U.S. to go backward.
“You got Donald Trump … wants to take us back to a pre-1960s world,” the California governor said in a clip captured by Fox News on Thursday and highlighted by Grabien News.
Newsom has long been a forceful advocate for Biden, attacking both Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) over the past 18 months.
The California governor in doing so has also stoked interest in his own political future, even as this year and last year he made it clear he would not challenge Biden.
New questions are swirling around Biden in the wake of his haltering performance at last week’s debate, which underscored concerns about the 81-year-old president’s fitness for office. Biden has a high-stakes interview Friday night with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos.
Newsom has stuck by Biden following the debate, saying Wednesday in a post on the social platform X that Biden “had our back” and “it’s time to have his.”
Other figures besides Newsom who have been suggested as possible replacements for Biden include his fellow Govs. Gretchen Whitmer (D-Mich.) and JB Pritzker (D-Ill.), as well as Vice President Harris and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. Harris is widely seen as the leading candidate.
The White House was insistent Wednesday that Biden is not leaving the presidential race, and he said in a fundraising email sent the same day that nobody “is pushing me out.”
“I’m the Democratic Party’s nominee,” the fundraising email read. “No one is pushing me out. I’m not leaving, I’m in this race to the end, and WE are going to win this election. If that’s all you need to hear, pitch in a few bucks to help [Harris] and me defeat Donald Trump in November.”
In an emailed statement to The Hill, Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung said “Gavin Newscum has no idea what he’s talking about.”
Updated 11:06 a.m. ET