Gavin Newsom’s words say he is not running for president. His actions tell another story

Is Gov. Gavin Newsom running for president in 2024 or 2028? We don’t know, but wondering is California’s current favorite political parlor game.

After all, Newsom has done what a serious presidential candidate might do: He’s run television ads trolling Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the Sunshine State. He is loudly declaiming DeSantis’ objectively cruel shipping of migrants to other states he thinks should handle them. And he has paid for billboards in seven states noting that California is pro-choice.

Clearly, Newsom is doing something.

Opinion

Conventional wisdom suggests he’s an obvious candidate. Newsom is governor of the largest state in the union, he’s telegenic and articulate, and he is adept at making news.

In an interview with McClatchy’s California editorial boards last week, I asked Newsom whether he cared to modify an earlier statement that he had “less than zero interest in the presidency.”

“No, I remain steadfast in my position: sub-zero, and have no desire whatsoever to be in that conversation,” he said.

Newsom is quippy, to be sure. He said, “You know, Jack, I mean, I think I was going to do a cartoon and have me saying this in 26 different languages.”

Thanks for the idea, I replied.

Newsom went on to express gratitude for the question given his past struggles with dyslexia and more: “But look, hey, let me say this as a human being, it’s pretty damn humbling. Right? Thank you for even asking. Right? It’s ridiculous. You know, a guy couldn’t read. Growing up, nine something (900s) on my SATs, single mom, you know … that’s amazing. So thank you. I mean that.”

There are some obstacles to a Newsom presidency. First, “California” is an epithet in a lot of regions of the United States. We’re too progressive, too radical, too precious … too everything.

Second, you may have heard of Vice President Kamala Harris, who is currently fairly well-positioned to run in 2024 or even 2028. By then, however, one could say the same about a lot of other, younger Democrats, such as Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, who might as well have declared his presidential candidacy in preschool.

Note, however, that President Joe Biden told “60 Minutes” that “my intention, as I said, to begin with, is that I would run again. But it’s just an intention. But is it a firm decision that I run again? That remains to be seen.”

OK, that seems like a little less than “Hell, yeah.” It’s an honest answer, because the man would be 82 on Inauguration Day in 2025. While he’s still a pretty kicky 79, he knows time is not on his side.

For his part, Newsom insists that his now-constant performances on the national stage are merely an attempt to get the Democratic Party back on a coherent rebuttal footing. “My party, the organizational construct (of) the Democratic Party, I (am) still just bewildered by our lack of focus and intentionality on what the hell’s really going on in this country, state by state by state,” he told us.

He’s right, of course. And maybe Newsom is actually not running, now and forever.

But what if he were the one person who had the best skill set to be president? Would he say no?

No, nein, non, nyet — and in 22 other languages.