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‘Un-Democratic coup’: Gavin Newsom mocks ‘very inclusive process’ that elevated Kamala Harris

August 25, 2024 | | Print Article

A shared laugh over the palace coup saw California’s governor make light of the “very inclusive process” that put Vice President Kamala Harris atop the ticket.

(Video: Pod Save America)

With Harris locked in at the Democratic National Convention, it appeared that California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) was ready to drop pretense during a chuckle fest on the “Pod Save America” podcast. Joining the co-hosts comprised of former staffers to then-President Barack Obama, little time was wasted making light of replacing President Joe Biden in spite of the will of voters.

“How you feelin’ about the switch?” asked Obama’s onetime director of speechwriting Jon Favreau, prompting a chortle from Newsom who repeated, “The switch.”

Immediately changing his tone to emphasize the joke of the narrative being sold, the governor said, “Now, we went through a very open process, a very inclusive process. It was bottom-up. I don’t know if you know that. That’s what I’ve been told to say.”

Long the subject of rumors that he himself had been running a shadow campaign to replace Biden as the nominee, the Golden State executive laughed when the host went on to refer to the proposed “blitz primary” that would have seen something more akin to an open convention.

“A 30-minute convention between a tweet and another tweet,” added Newsom who blurred the line between “sincerity” and snark. “It’s been amazing, but what is amazing is how unified everyone is. I mean, it’s next level.”

While he’d fervently denied intent to usurp Biden during this election cycle, many suspect the governor had set his eyes toward a future White House bid and he played up his long history with Harris stretching back to their shared time in the radical mecca of the San Francisco Bay area.

“Almost 25 years — before we were both in politics. I know everyone says like ‘we were friends.’ You roll your eyes, politicians being ‘friends,'” Newsom said as he made air quotes. “But, literally before…None of us knew what we were gonna do in the future.”

Intentionally or not, the governor dropped a mention of mutual friend Willie Brown, Speaker of the California State Assembly before being elected as San Francisco’s mayor around the same time he stopped dating Harris, and seeded a reminder of the vice president’s track record of career elevation.

Reacting to Newsom’s comments, Steven Cheung, campaign spokesman for former President Donald Trump, told the Washington Examiner, “Gavin Newscum is saying the loud part even louder — this was an un-Democratic coup.”

“Comrade Kamala didn’t receive a single vote in the Democrat primary, yet she’s been anointed by the Democrat powerbrokers against the will of the voters, he added. “President Trump dominated the competition during the primary and EARNED his way to the nomination. The same can’t be said for Kamala.”

Likewise, social media users called out the governor and the left for clutching their pearls over “democracy” only to embrace “instant oligarchy” when the ends justified the means.

Kevin Haggerty
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