Advisers from President Joe Biden’s re-election campaign told Axios they are dispatching California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) to the GOP primary debate to be held in Simi Valley, CA next week. His task will be to lead Democratic communications with the press, serving as a kind of spokesperson for the Biden camp and fielding questions about charges made against Biden during the debate.
He will be joined by Biden campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez and Democratic National Committee (DNC) chair Jaime Harrison.
“The campaign response builds off the strong and effective plan from the first debate with a clear north star: pushback on Republicans’ lies and highlight their extremism at every turn. Our response will ensure we hold every Republican and their extreme positions accountable,” the advisers said.
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This matters because it is a further sign that Newsom and Biden’s formerly fraught relationship, caused by differences over a farmworker unionization bill, is beginning to bloom into a potential alliance as Newsom continually makes the media rounds stumping for the Biden administration. He went on Sean Hannity’s Fox show to defend Biden and Harris’ accomplishments and told The New York Times earlier this month that it’s time to rally around the 46th president.
Newsom also keeps getting national headlines, creating suspicion that a Newsom shoe-in is still possible for the 2024 presidency. He also appeared at a UN climate summit in Biden’s absence on Wednesday, during which he delivered a speech denouncing the oil industry.
Former President Donald Trump will not be attending the debate, just as he boycotted it last time by doing an interview with Tucker Carlson, but his shadow still looms large over the GOP primary race. “You can expect the Biden campaign and our allies to point out the stark contrast between Bidenomics and the extreme MAGAnomics policies we’ll hear on the debate stage,” the Biden advisers said.
“On the debate stage, Republicans will have to answer whether they’re on the side of the MAGA shutdown or with the American people,” they added, referring to the impending government shutdown and Trump’s call to force it to happen.
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