WASHINGTON — California Gov. Gavin Newsom is increasingly being viewed as a nuisance to some of President Joe Biden’s political advisers, according to four people familiar with the matter.
Though Biden’s camp no longer sees the California governor as a wannabe challenger to the president — and some in the president’s orbit praise him for acting as a top campaign surrogate — Newsom’s plan to debate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on television carries more risk than potential reward, these people say.
That’s caused consternation within Biden’s operation and among Vice President Kamala Harris’ allies.
Some Biden advisers have complained privately that the planned debate, which would be moderated by Fox News host Sean Hannity, could make voters think Newsom is running a shadow 2024 campaign at a time when most Democrats say they’d prefer a different candidate at the top of the ticket. They also argue that it could elevate DeSantis, whom White House advisers initially perceived as a greater threat to Biden’s re-election hopes than the GOP front-runner, former President Donald Trump. (Others have insisted that there is no harm in them debating and, in fact, could be a net positive.)
Harris allies take particular umbrage at what they see as Newsom’s attempt to position himself for the 2028 Democratic presidential primarily at the expense of the vice president.
“It’s disrespectful,” said one outside adviser to Harris. “Joe Biden is running with Kamala Harris. That’s the Democratic ticket.”
It’s not clear yet that the debate will actually go forward: the two camps have been haggling over proposed rules since DeSantis accepted Newsom’s standing challenge earlier this month. But the specter of the two governors going head to head has highlighted the degree to which Biden interests are not always clear and can diverge from Harris’ interests.
Newsom is expected to be a top surrogate for Biden’s campaign at the second Republican presidential primary debate in Simi Valley, Calif. in September, according to a Democratic aide familiar with the plans.
Yet just as some Biden advisers are irked by Newsom’s move, others see potential benefit in a high-profile Democrat defending the president’s record and agenda against a prominent Republican hopeful.
“What he’s doing here is appropriate for a surrogate. It would not be appropriate for the president or the vice president,” said one Biden adviser who lauded Newsom for taking on DeSantis and for sharing a donor list with the president’s re-election campaign.
“We’re in close touch with him,” this adviser said. “This is the kind of thing we want surrogates to do.”
Newsom did not respond to a text message seeking comment on what he learned about DeSantis from Wednesday’s Republican primary debate and whether he thinks the two men will end up debating.
This isn’t the first time the White House has had to contemplate whether Biden and Harris are collateral damage in Newsom’s efforts to elevate himself.
Last year, Biden advisers closely tracked Newsom’s national political activity, concerned that he might be laying the groundwork to run in 2024. He assured then-White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain that he was “not interested” in a 2024 bid, according to a person familiar with the conversation.
With many Democrats looking for an alternative to Biden, who turned 80 in November, some of Newsom’s maneuvers into the national spotlight were perceived as promoting the California governor at the cost of stoking concerns about the president.
But in the months since Biden announced his re-election campaign in April, Newsom has become a top surrogate, and most of the president’s advisers have welcomed his help. One set of Biden’s advisers are content with a potential Newsom-DeSantis showdown, seeing political upside for the president and the party if DeSantis falters, according to people familiar with the discussions.
On the other hand, a strong DeSantis showing could strengthen him and weaken Democratic arguments. The Florida governor exchanged barbs with Harris earlier this summer as she harshly criticized a state education mandate to teach about the “benefits” of slavery.
She declined DeSantis’ entreaty last month to engage with him directly on the issue and then he agreed to debate Newsom. Though the challenge had been issued much earlier, Newsom’s decision to move forward came in the shadow of Harris’ arm’s-length back-and-forth with DeSantis.
While the two governors tussle over the rules and timing of a debate — it could happen this fall, possibly in November — DeSantis is trying to gain traction in his uphill fight to beat Trump for the 2024 GOP nomination.
DeSantis and Newsom already have sparred over a range of issues, including crime, Covid, abortion rights, education and migrant policy. Newsom has run ads in Florida targeting DeSantis’ positions.
One Biden adviser bristled at the message the possible debate sends about Harris and about the early jockeying for the party’s 2028 nomination.
“It could either look one of two ways: like he tried to defend her because she couldn’t defend herself or that he was being thirsty for attention or to get in the fight,” the Biden adviser said. “And it was at a time when the VP had completely dismissed and won the fight with DeSantis, and I think Gavin gave him a second life.”
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
