President Joe Biden's reelection campaign is making the interesting choice to send Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) to next Wednesday's second RNC debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, according to Axios. While California is Newsom's home state, it's also the home state of Vice President Kamala Harris. Such a move comes as there's been chatter about Newsom himself running for president, although he insists he's not doing so in 2024 and that he is supporting the Biden-Harris ticket.
"It's the latest example of Biden's increasingly warm relationship with Newsom after earlier tensions between the two — and comes as the California governor continues to build his national profile," Axios noted.
Newsom’s appearance at the debate isn’t the only response the Biden campaign is going for. Biden re-elect spokesperson Kevin Munoz told Axios that they’re continuing their response from the first RNC debate. "The campaign response builds off the strong and effective plan from the first debate with a clear north star: Push back on Republicans' lies and highlight their extremism at every turn," he said.
But, there’s also a fixation with this "MAGA Republicans" label, a term the president and those in his administration and reelection campaign have used to demonize his political opponents. A Biden adviser told the outlet that the DNC will be hiring a plane to fly over Southern California that reads "2024 GOP: A Race for the Extreme MAGA Base."
The Hill, which reported that Newsom will be there to lead response efforts, pointed to advisers using the term multiple times:
“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,” advisers said.
“The timing of next week’s debate, as MAGA Republicans are willing to shut down the government unless Donald Trump gets his way, shines a brighter spotlight on economic impacts of the extreme MAGAnomics agenda. On the debate stage, Republicans will have to answer whether they’re on the side of the MAGA shutdown or with the American people,” advisers added.
The Biden administration and reelection campaign, as well as the president himself, have tried to sell the Bidenomics that people are not buying. Last week, Biden gave a speech trying to highlight the differences between Bidenomics and MAGAnomics that involved once more demonizing his political opponents and repeating misleading claims that have been fact-checked multiple times.
The "MAGA Republicans" label is used so much that Biden has had an increasingly hard time keeping up. As Bonchie at our sister site of RedState covered, he actually used the term "mega" on Thursday night for the 46th Annual Gala for the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.
Biden (heavily mumbling): "Mega Republicans in Congress and my predecessor spent four years gutting the immigration system under my predecessor and continue to undermine our border security today" pic.twitter.com/yarGIpWXJX
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) September 22, 2023
One of the Republican primary candidates likely to be on the debate stage is former Gov. Nikki Haley of South Carolina, who laid out her economic plan on Friday morning, "The Freedom Plan," highlighting many of the failures of Bidenomics.
As Axios noted, Newsom's appearance had actually been previewed by TheMesssenger last month, before even the first RNC debate took place in Milwaukee on August 24, in a piece highlighting "How the California Governor Went From a Nuisance to a Top Ally."
"Newsom’s rising stock in Biden’s orbit is expected to be on full display next month, when the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute in Simi Valley, California hosts the second Republican presidential debate," the piece mentioned. "Democratic operatives with knowledge of the messaging strategy around the debate said the plan was to have Newsom be the premier surrogate for Democrats, blanketing the airwaves as the party pushes back against the GOP’s messaging."
Nevertheless, amidst the chatter that Biden won't be the nominee, Newsom's name has been mentioned as a possible replacement. Polls and op-eds from friendly sources such as The Washington Post continue to show that Americans don't believe Biden should be the nominee. There's concerns about his age and mental capabilities, and if he can last through a second term. Even fellow Democrats share such concerns.