California's Gavin Newsom touts his support for President Joe Biden and sidesteps replacement talk

SOUTH HAVEN, Mich. -- California Gov. Gavin Newsom offered a forceful defence of embattled President Joe Biden connected Thursday, telling Democrats successful Michigan that the 81-year-old president has the grounds and vigor to triumph a 2nd word contempt wide doubts astir his quality to run oregon govern effectively.

Newsom’s transportation astatine a section Independence Day picnic is portion of an effort from Biden’s reelection run and the White House to reassure enactment activists and the broader electorate that Biden is up to occupation aft helium appeared addled in his debate against erstwhile President Donald Trump.

“This is simply a superior infinitesimal successful American history. It’s not complicated,” Newsom told Van Buren County Democrats, turning their attraction to the prospects of different Trump presidency. “What I request to person you of is not to beryllium fatalistic, not to autumn prey to each of this negativity. ... Do more. Worry less.”

Newsom's plea highlights the tenuous equilibrium for Democrats and enactment lieutenants similar the 56-year-old governor: He has agelong been a apical Biden run surrogate and was among the governors who rallied down the president aft a backstage White House league connected Wednesday. Yet Newsom himself is among those mentioned arsenic imaginable replacements should Biden measurement speech and let an unfastened convention erstwhile Democratic delegates convene successful Chicago adjacent month.

The politician sidestepped questions astir those imaginable outcomes, including a question astir whether helium would enactment Vice President Kamala Harris, a chap Californian, for the information if Biden leaves the race.

“I don’t adjacent similar playing successful the hypotheticals, due to the fact that past nighttime was astir benignant of locking down immoderate uncertainty oregon ambiguity,” helium said, referring to Biden's league with Democratic governors. “And past we commencement moving successful antithetic directions, zigging and zagging and each that benignant of speculation. And that gets successful the mode of progress.”

Newsom acknowledged “a pugnacious fewer weeks” during his remarks to picnic attendees, and helium admitted helium had to scrap his planned talking points erstwhile facing reporters successful Atlanta aft the debate. But helium said Biden reassured him and different Democratic governors Wednesday astatine the White House, wherever the president acknowledged his flop but expressed determination to triumph his rematch with Trump.

“That was the Joe Biden I retrieve from 2 weeks ago. That was the Joe Biden that I retrieve from 2 years ago,” Newsom said. “That’s the Joe Biden that I’m looking guardant to reelecting arsenic president of the United States, and I mean that.”

According to 3 radical acquainted with the meeting, Biden acknowledged to the governors that helium needs to get much slumber and bounds evening events truthful helium tin crook successful earlier and beryllium acceptable for the job. The sources spoke to The Associated Press connected the information of anonymity to sermon backstage conversations.

Newsom did not code those explanations during his 15-minute remarks. He told reporters afterward that Biden referenced precocious nights “with a grin connected his face.”

“It was much of a rhetorical model of conscionable being acceptable and rested, due to the fact that helium was burning it astatine some ends that past last 10 oregon truthful days (before the debate), and I deliberation that was what helium was reflecting,” Newsom said. “It wasn’t a literal ‘at 8 o’clock I volition beryllium doing things differently,’ it was much figurative.’”

Newsom said it's good erstwhile a “president acknowledges they’re human” and added that radical are “reading betwixt the lines excessively much” connected what Biden said astir his schedule.

Newsom drew enthusiastic applause from the partisan crowd. One attendee, Susan Kavanaugh, called his outlook “timely.”

“I conscionable was truthful encouraged by his optimism and speaking genuinely from his heart,” she said. “Which reminds maine a batch of the quality of Joe Biden.”

Despite the governor's confidence, starring Democrats stay acrophobic astir whether Biden tin rebound politically. The president's aides and allies hold that the coming days are critical, with Biden readying a visible, engaged docket that could stem immoderate escaped autumn successful nationalist assurance — oregon further solidify elector concerns that helium is excessively aged for different term.

Biden is scheduled to run Friday successful Wisconsin, a cardinal battleground that helium won successful 2020, and beryllium for an interrogation with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos. It volition aerial arsenic a prime-time peculiar that night. He plans Sunday to beryllium successful Philadelphia and clasp a afloat quality league during the NATO acme successful Washington adjacent week.

Already this week, the president utilized a vigor interrogation to stress voters' prime and reason that Trump would beryllium a catastrophe for American ideology and the economy.

Newsom echoed that framing successful Michigan, urging enactment faithful to clasp Biden's grounds and values. He noted sustained debased unemployment, rising wages and large authorities for infrastructure spending, addressing clime alteration and spurring American manufacturing, particularly computer chips.

“I judge successful this man. I judge successful his character. I judge that helium has been 1 of the astir transformative presidents successful our corporate lifetimes,” Newsom said. “We’re truthful bully astatine focusing connected what’s incorrect and not celebrating what’s right.” ——

Barrow reported from Atlanta. Associated Press newsman Seung Min Kim contributed from Washington.