Newsom on challenging Biden in primary: ‘Not on God’s green earth’

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) shut down speculation about a potential primary challenge to President Biden in a recent interview, saying there is no chance he will launch a White House bid in 2024

“Not on God’s green earth, as the phrase goes,” Newsom told The Associated Press. “I have been pretty consistently — including recently on Fox News — making the case for his candidacy.”

Newsom’s escalating feud with Republican presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has recently renewed speculation about the California governor’s presidential aspirations. 

He joined Fox News host Sean Hannity for a sit-down interview that aired last week, in which he said he was “all in” on the idea of a debate with DeSantis.

The Florida governor responded to Newsom’s challenge, telling him to “stop pussyfooting around” and decide whether he’s going to launch a presidential bid.

“Are you going to throw your hat in the ring and challenge Joe? Are you going to do it?” DeSantis said at a press conference. “Or are you going to sit on the sidelines and chirp? Why don’t you throw your hat in the ring, and then we’ll go ahead and talk about what’s happening.”

Newsom responded to DeSantis’s recent attacks against him in the AP interview, calling him a weak and undisciplined candidate. 

“He’s taking his eye off the ball,” the California governor said. “And that’s not inconsistent with my own assessment of him, which is he is a weak candidate, and he is undisciplined and will be crushed by Donald Trump, and will soon be in third or fourth in national polls.”

A Harvard CAPS-Harris Poll survey released Friday showed former President Trump leading DeSantis by 45 points among Republican primary voters. While 14 percent said they would support the Florida governor, 59 percent said they would back the former president in the GOP primary.