Gavin Newsom spent a lot of money propping up Joe Biden, only for the president to drop out
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NEWSOM WAS ALL IN ON BIDEN, EVEN AS THE PRESIDENT FACED PRESSURE TO DROP OUT
Via David Lightman...
As Joe Biden was being pressured to leave the presidential race in July, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s SuperPAC was spending $851,000 to help promote his candidacy.
The Campaign for Democracy Group spent that amount on text messages urging support for Biden and donations to his campaign, according to Federal Election Commission records.
One of the texts begins “an important message from Gavin Newsom for Democrats everywhere today.” He calls Biden’s job performance a “master class on jobs, gun safety, infrastructure and more.”
Talk of Biden leaving the race, Newsom said, is “unhelpful and unnecessary.”
Campaign for Democracy Group is a SuperPAC that can raise and spend money in unlimited amounts. It is one of three fundraising committees Newsom and his supporters created to help promote his ideas—and presumably himself should he seek other offices after he leaves the governorship after the 2026 election.
Biden’s stumbling performance in his June 27 debate with former President Donald Trump sparked calls from prominent Democrats for him to leave the race.
Newsom defended Biden’s performance in a text, saying “on the substance Joe Biden won the debate last night. That’s what matters to me.”
The governor said “We aren’t going to turn our backs because of one performance. What kind of party does that?”
By mid-July, top Democratic congressional leaders were telling Biden he was losing support within the party.
Newsom remained fiercely loyal to Biden. CBS’ Robert Costa asked Newsom about being urged to push Biden out of the race. Newsom said when he gets such messages, he hits “delete, delete, delete.”
Newsom said of Biden, “I’m all in, no daylight.”
Biden left the race July 21.
WHEN YOU’VE LOST BILL ESSAYLI AND GAVIN NEWSOM...
The California Coastal Commission’s recent decision to reject an expansion of SpaceX launches on the Central Coast, in part due to the company’s history of workplace injuries and in part due to CEO Elon Musk’s record of spreading misinformation on social media and vocal support for Trump, didn’t win any friends on the right.
As we previously reported, Assemblyman Bill Essayli, R-Corona, a conservative firebrand, penned a letter to the commission, castigating it for their decision and demanding that the body turn over all commissioner communications concerning SpaceX and Musk.
Essayli wasn’t the only Republican lawmaker to send a letter.
Newly minted GOP Congressman Vince Fong, R-Bakersfield, wrote to the commission with “grave concerns” over their decision, “with commissioners citing personal animus to justify what should have been a non-political decision.”
“As a member of Congress, I believe that government decisions should be made in a fair and impartial manner, without regard to political views,” Fong wrote.
Fong sits on the House Committee on Science, Space & Technology. He previously served in the Assembly, representing Bakersfield.
“In all my years in public service, I have never heard of a commission discussing politics as the basis for official action,” he wrote. “This seems to be an egregious use of political discrimination to punish a specific company.”
Then, of course, there was Musk’s lawsuit, filed last week.
But it wasn’t just Republicans who criticized the commission’s vote. Joining the chorus of critics was none other than Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom.
According to Politico, while campaigning in North Carolina, Newsom — who has his own history of clashes with Musk — sided with the billionaire SpaceX CEO over the commission.
“I’m with Elon,” Newsom said, according to Politico. “I didn’t like that.”
A spokesman for the California Coastal Commission declined The Bee’s request for comment.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“For decades, medication abortion has been recognized not only as effective, but so safe that it presents lower risks of serious complications than taking Tylenol or getting a colonoscopy.”
- California Attorney General Rob Bonta, in a statement announcing his filing of an amicus brief in defense of the abortion medication mifepristone.
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