Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) criticized Gov. Gavin Newsom over the weekend by accusing the California Democrat of running a primary campaign against President Biden without having “the guts” to publicly announce it.
“There are two additional Democrats running for Pennsylvania, excuse me, running for president right now,” Fetterman said during a speech to the Iowa Democratic Party on Saturday, according to NBC News.
“One is a congressman from Minnesota, the other one is the governor of California, but only one has the guts to announce it,” the Pennsylvania Democrat added, referring to Newsom and Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.).
Newsom has repeatedly insisted that he has no plans to challenge Biden, 80, for the White House in 2024 or even seek the presidency if Biden were to drop out of the race.
The Golden State governor prompted conjecture about his White House ambitions after earlier this year appearing for an interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News and challenging Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to debate their state’s contrasting policies.
Newsom also recently traveled to China, where he met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing and discussed ways to “accelerate our progress on climate in meaningful and substantive ways” with the communist leader, according to the governor.
Newsom was recently accused by GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy of mounting a secret campaign for the White House.
“The man is running for president, doing it and doing it in disguise, doing it with a track record at a state that is more disastrous by the day,” Ramaswamy said during an event in Iowa City last month, according to NBC News.
“The answer is no,” the California Democrat told CNN in September when asked if he’s considering a 2024 presidential run. “No ambiguity.”
Veteran political strategists told The Post Monday that Biden doesn’t have the support to win reelection in 2024.
The stark assessment of Biden’s 2024 chances came after a New York Times/Siena College survey showed the president polling behind former President Donald Trump in key battleground states such as Arizona, Michigan, Georgia, Nevada and Pennsylvania.