Back on the trail: Top Biden surrogate Newsom now campaigning for Harris

PHILADELPHIA — California Gov. Gavin Newsom is back on the presidential campaign trail.

The high-profile Democrat and two-term governor was one of the top surrogates for President Biden during the president’s re-election campaign.

But other than an appearance – but no speaking role – at last month’s Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago, Newsom has mostly been off the campaign trail since fellow Californian Vice President Kamala Harris replaced Biden atop the party’s 2024 ticket seven and a half weeks ago.

Until now.

Newsom will be one of four Democratic governors – along with Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, Roy Cooper of North Carolina and Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico – who will be in the debate spin room on behalf of the vice president.

Ahead of his stop in Philadelphia, Newsom was in New York on Sunday to headline a fundraiser for Harris and also made media appearances on behalf of the vice president and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, her running mate.

‘What Kamala Harris has done in the past eight weeks is unprecedented in U.S. history. She’s closed the gap. We’re not just in the margin of error. We’ve expanded the map of the United States,’ Newsom emphasized early Tuesday in an interview on ‘CBS Mornings.’

Newsom was a prominent Biden surrogate and defended him after the president’s disastrous performance in his late June debate against former President Trump, the GOP presidential nominee.

Biden’s halting debate delivery instantly fueled questions about his physical and mental abilities to serve another four years in the White House and spurred a rising chorus of calls from within his own party for the 81-year-old president to end his bid for a second term. Facing increased pressure from fellow Democrats, Biden, in a blockbuster announcement on July 21, ended his re-election campaign and endorsed his vice president.

When asked if he would be as voracious for Harris on the campaign trail as he was for Biden, Newsom pointed to his longtime friendship and working relationship with the vice president.

‘We knew each other a decade before we both got into politics. One of my oldest friends. So it’s a no brainer,’ Newsom told Fox News Digital during the first night of the DNC at Chicago’s United Center arena. ‘I’m as needed. But obviously all in.’

However, Newsom, who is thought to have long harbored national ambitions of his own, added at the time that he may not be asked by the Harris campaign to hit the trail on behalf of the vice president.

‘We’ll see. Because everybody’s out there. Everybody’s doing everything,’ the governor said.

Fast-forward three weeks, and Newsom’s back on the campaign trail.