CA Gov. Gavin Newsom has sparred with Fox News host Sean Hannity.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — CA Gov. Gavin Newsom sparred with Fox News host Sean Hannity on Monday night, insisting that President Joe Biden is physically fit for a second term as president while refusing to say whether supporters have urged him to run against Biden in the 2024 election.
Asked if he believes Biden is “cognitively strong enough to be president,” Newsom said yes, adding that he speaks with the president “all the time” and has traveled with him on Air Force One.
Newsom has repeatedly stated that he has no interest in running for president, stating that he fully supports Biden’s reelection strategy. In April, Newsom raised money for Biden during a fundraiser in Washington shortly after the president announced his reelection strategy.
But Newsom has continued to raise his national profile, fueling more speculation that he is laying the groundwork for a presidential campaign beyond 2024. After coasting to reelection as governor in 2022, Newsom took the millions of dollars left in his campaign account to start a new political action committee. Newsom said he plans to use the money to support Democrats running for office in Republican-dominated states like Texas, Alabama, and Mississippi. Last week, Newsom said the committee would advocate for a 29th amendment to the U.S. Constitution to strengthen federal gun laws.
Political Toons
But Newsom has continued to raise his national profile, fueling more speculation that he is laying the groundwork for a presidential campaign beyond 2024. After coasting to reelection as governor in 2022, Newsom took the millions of dollars remaining in his campaign account to start a new political action committee.
Newsom said he plans to use the money to support Democrats running for office in Republican-dominated states like Texas, Alabama, and Mississippi. Last week, Newsom said the committee would advocate for a 29th amendment to the U.S. Constitution to strengthen federal gun laws.
Fox News said Monday was Newsom’s first interview on the network since 2010, when Newsom was the mayor of San Francisco. Since then, Newsom has often joined the chorus of criticism against the conservative news outlet from Democrats who object to the coverage of guns and how some of the network’s hosts have embraced former President Donald Trump.
Last year, Newsom conceded that Republicans were “winning right now” in part because he said Democrats were too timid, giving conservatives the most compelling narrative over the airwaves. He has since opted for a more confrontational style — including with Fox News. Newsom says he is a regular viewer of the network. Last year, his campaign paid for an ad on Fox News in Florida, urging residents there to “join us in California.”
“We need more of these conversations, and we need to not only accuse each other of deceiving the American people, but I think engage with each other in the context of providing opportunities to address some of the facts that are often overlooked in terms of the conversations and issues we choose to grab hold of,” Newsom said.
Monday’s interview had a lot of confrontation, with Hannity and Newsom often talking over each other. Hannity noted California lost population for the first time in its history as a state while Newsom has been in office, citing that as evidence that the policies of Newsom and his fellow Democrats have failed. That includes California’s taxes, with a top rate of 13.3% that is the highest in the nation.
Newsom pushed back, saying that only the rich pay that 13.3% income tax rate. He said that top tax rate was in place before he was governor, emphasizing that he has opposed new tax increases on the rich, including campaigning against a proposal on the 2022 ballot that would have raised taxes on the rich to pay for more zero-emission vehicles and to help fight wildfires.
“I’ve never been a profligate liberal. I’ve balanced budgets. We’ve made the hard choices. I’m a businessman,” Newsom said.
The interview was recorded earlier in Sacramento before airing on Monday evening. Hannity defended Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ use of taxpayer funds to fly migrant workers to California.
“You’re a sanctuary state! Why don’t you adopt them?” Hannity asked.
“We embrace everyone here,” Newsom said. “I sat down with these migrant workers. I talked to each and every one of them. They were lied to, they were deceived.”
However, it wasn’t all criticism from Newsom. The governor said he had a good relationship with former Republican President Donald Trump during the coronavirus outbreak, saying Trump “played no politics during COVID with California.”
“I’ve received a lot of criticism from the left for saying that,” Newsom said.
While the interview took up the entire hour of Hannity’s show on Monday, the two men still had more to talk about. Hannity said the rest of the interview will air later this week.
