Aides to President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are reportedly less than thrilled that Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.) plans to debate his rival, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.).
As rumors swirl that Newsom is next in line to replace Biden as the Democratic presidential nominee, several Biden staffers view the governor as a nuisance.
"It's disrespectful," an outside Harris adviser said, according to a report from NBC News. “Joe Biden is running with Kamala Harris. That's the Democratic ticket.”
While Newsom may no longer carry a potential primary threat to Biden, they still feel the debate would cause more harm than good.
“Some Biden advisers have complained privately that the planned debate… 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,” the report read.
Insiders close to the Biden Administration also believe the debate could boost DeSantis in the polls, which White House advisers reportedly perceived as a more significant threat to the president’s re-election chances than former President Trump.
Some aides also argue that the debate, slated to air on Fox News and moderated by host Sean Hannity, would give Newsom a five-year head start on a potential 2028 presidential campaign— angering Harris aides in particular.
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“Harris allies take particular umbrage at what they see as Newsom’s attempt to position himself for the 2028 Democratic presidential primarily at her expense,” the report read.
However, a few Biden staffers claimed the debate would help the president secure another four years in the White House.
“What he's doing here is appropriate for a surrogate. It would not be appropriate for the president or the vice president," one Biden adviser said. “We’re in close touch with him; this is the kind of thing we want surrogates to do.”
Kevin Munoz, a spokesperson for the Biden campaign, echoed similar thoughts, saying Newsom and the Biden Administration have been in contact as the debate is nearing.
“Governor Newsom is a strong partner and surrogate for the Biden-Harris campaign," Munoz said. "We coordinate closely on campaigning, whether it's fundraising or media. When he brought the debate idea to us, we endorsed it."
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