The man who COULD be president: California Governor Gavin Newsom

Amid calls for Joe Biden to step down following his catastrophic performance at the presidential debate, one man has hovered around the edges reminding the Democrats that he is there should the 81-year-old commander in chief fail.

With his Hollywood good looks and perfect wife and family he seems like a president straight out of central casting.

But behind the slick (literally) exterior is a seasoned operator accused of ruining California with woke laws, rising crime and who has a very uncomfortable link to the Trumps.

Meet Gavin Newsom, 56, who is in the middle of his second and final term as California’s governor. 

With no re-election campaign to run, Newsom set his sights on nationwide recognition by appearing on TV clashing over social issues with Republicans like Ron DeSantis – and front and centre at the presidential debate last night, where he adamantly defended Biden’s catastrophic performance.

Newsom was basking in the spotlight as he was surrounded by reporters. In one interview, Newsom attacked Trump and said he was a ‘serial liar who is responsible for rape victims being forced to carry their abuser’s child to term’.

He actually has a very intimate connection to the Trump family, as his ex-wife, FOX anchor Kimberly Guilfoyle, is engaged to the former President’s son, Donald Trump Jr.

Newsom and Guilfoyle were married for five years before their divorce in 2006, while he was the mayor of San Francisco. He has since remarried and had four children with his now-wife Jennifer Siebel Newsom.

Since he took over as California’s governor in 2019, Newsom has introduced new laws to make the state a sanctuary for women seeking abortions post Roe v Wade as well as a literal green haven by banning the sale of new fossil-fuel cars by 2035.

He also introduced policies beneficial to illegal immigrants, like offering undocumented immigrants the opportunity to get health insurance.

Newsom has been harshly criticised for his leadership of the state, with Republicans pointing to the state’s $46.8billion budget deficit, high tax rates, large homeless population and the proliferation of property crimes in its largest cities.

While Newsom said that claims that he could replace Biden, 81, were ‘farcical,’ his appearance has sparked claims that the governor was placed in front of cameras at the debate as part of a plan to take over as the candidate for the Democrats.

Former pre-candidate for president Vivek Ramaswamy said: ‘What we witnessed tonight wasn’t an accident, it was intentional. Brace yourself for a wild 5 months ahead.’

Ramaswamy has been floating around the theory that the Democratic party was planning to replace Biden since last year’s Republican debates in November.

Many have even theorized that the Democratic party wanted Biden to perform poorly all along to create an exit strategy that would see Newsom become the candidate.

Progressive Bloomberg columnist Erika Smith argued Newsom has been running a shadow campaign as Biden’s back-up, citing his debate with Florida governor Ron DeSantis and his meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, which raised his international profile.

‘He’s doing that thing that all presidential hopefuls do: He is working on a memoir,’ Smith argued.

Senior party leaders are privately pushing for Newsom or Michelle Obama to step in following Biden’s disastrous showing on Thursday. 

Biden dismissed calls to leave the race last night – insisting the debate with Trump ‘went well’ – but behind the scenes the Democrats are in chaos with many pushing the panic button.   

The governor also dismissed the notion that Biden could be replaced and urged in a fundraising email for the Democrats today: ‘Don’t look at 30 minutes… look at 3 and a half years of Joe Biden as president.’ 

But he also told reporters after the debate: ‘This country, the world, they need us right now to step up and that’s exactly what I intend to do,’ which some may see as an indication of his White House aspirations.

Newsom’s term as California’s governor is up in January 2027, and he is a favorite to be one of the top contenders in the 2028 presidential race.

His role as one of the Biden campaign’s top surrogates has made him a target of Republicans who have repeatedly held up California as an example of Democrats’ mismanagement. 

A few weeks ago a statewide survey from the Public Policy Institute of California found 59 per cent of likely voters believed California is headed in the wrong direction while 52 per cent disapprove of the way Newsom is handling his job as governor. 

The survey was based on responses from 1,098 likely voters with a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points. 

Outside the office, Newsom portrays himself as a loving father and family man, who happily smiles as he walks hand-in-hand with his wife and their four children Montana, Hunter, Brooklyn and Dutch. 

Newsom was branded a COVID hypocrite during the pandemic for imposing a mask mandate in schools while Montana and Hunter attended a basketball camp maskless.

Newsom pulled them out of the camp in July 2021, and at the time insisted he ‘missed’ the email which stated the kids wouldn’t have to wear face coverings.

It wasn’t the only time he was accused of double standards during lockdown, after he was caught having a maskless meal at the lavish French Laundry restaurant.