Newsom urges Michigan Democrats to remain calm and support Biden

California Gov. Gavin Newsom told anxious Michigan Democrats on Thursday that President Biden had been involved in his reelection campaign and had fought for it all the way during a White House rally the day before. And Mr. Newsom gently suggested that party activists take a deep breath and throw their weight behind the incumbent president.

“What I have to convince you is that you shouldn’t be fatalistic, that you shouldn’t fall prey to all this negativity,” Mr. Newsom told more than 100 fellow Democrats gathered at the July 4 holiday in South Haven, Michigan.

Democrats have had a rough week since Biden’s troubled debate performance last week. Calls for him to drop out of the race have exposed divisions within the party.

Mr. Newsom came to Michigan, a crucial swing state, as a surrogate campaigning for Mr. Biden. But it was hard to ignore that he was also one of the leading names circulating as a potential surrogate candidate — along with Michigan’s Democratic governor, Gretchen Whitmer.

Mr. Newsom on Thursday did not deviate from the party line that Mr. Biden remained the nominee and that Democrats were not interested in replacing him. The California governor did not even indicate he was interested in the job.

“I believe in this man,” Mr. Newsom said. “I believe in his character. I believe he has been one of the most transformative presidents in our collective lifetime.”

Mr. Newsom, one of several Democratic governors the president met personally at the White House on Wednesday, came to Michigan with a reassuring message for party loyalists. Yes, he acknowledged, the debate wasn’t great. But the president he saw at the White House on Wednesday, he said, “was the Joe Biden I remember two years ago.”

Still, Democrats were on edge after watching last week’s debate. Mike Steil, 76, a lifelong Democrat, said he was concerned about Biden’s age and would advise the president to let Vice President Kamala Harris replace him as the leader of the 2024 ticket. Steil, a retired teacher, said he would have given the president a D for his performance in the debate.

“It was embarrassing. It was scary. It made me angry,” Mr. Steil said of the debate. “I basically couldn’t sit still. I had to get up and leave the room a couple of times.”

Still, Mr. Steil said, Mr. Biden had been a good president — and one he would vote for again, he said, if the ticket remained the same. The stakes of the election, Mr. Steil said, were enormous, with democracy itself at stake.

Mr. Newsom’s visit underscored the importance of Michigan to both campaigns. Mr. Trump won the state in 2016, Mr. Biden won it in 2020, and Democrats believe winning it this year will be key to keeping the White House. Recent polls in Michigan showed a close race, with Mr. Trump generally holding a narrow lead.

Jan Petersen, 67, a grass-fed beef farmer in southwestern Michigan, said she appreciated Mr. Newsom’s reassuring message to Democrats. She was disappointed with the coverage of Mr. Biden after the debate and said she hoped he would stay in the race.

“I don’t want to complain, but it feels like they’re emphasizing the wrong things,” Ms. Petersen said.

Mr. Newsom spoke in Van Buren County, a Republican-leaning lakeside area of ​​75,000 in southwestern Michigan that was bustling Thursday with red-white-and-blue-clad families enjoying the holidays in the walkable downtown of South Haven. Mr. Trump won Van Buren County by 12 percentage points in 2020, but Ms. Whitmer came much closer in her re-election victory two years ago, when she lost the county by 2 percentage points.

The event in South Haven came a day after Jill Biden, the first lady, rallied Democrats to open a campaign office in Traverse City, Mich., a 200-mile drive north. In Traverse City, some Democrats said they wanted Mr. Biden to step aside, but the first lady indicated he would stay in the race.

Mary Andersson, 74, who wore an “I like Joe!” button during Mr. Newsom’s speech, said she was excited to vote for the president for a second term and “absolutely” wanted him to stay in the race. She said she believed he would win Michigan again.

“He represents and supports all my values,” said Ms. Andersson, a retired teacher who is active in the Democratic Party in a neighboring county. “I know a lot of 80-year-olds who are sharp.”

If Mr. Biden were to leave office, it remains to be seen how Democrats would choose a nominee; their first decision would be whether Ms. Harris would become the party’s nominee, or whether the race would be opened to others such as Mr. Newsom.

A reporter asked Mr. Newsom after his speech on Thursday whether he would support Ms. Harris as a presidential candidate if Mr. Biden were to withdraw. The governor rejected the premise of the question.

“I don’t even like to play the hypotheticals because last night was about eliminating all doubt and ambiguity,” Mr. Newsom said, referring to the White House meeting.

“Joe Biden is our president,” the governor added. “He said he’s all in.”