California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks at a news conference on June 24, 2022.
Rich Pedroncelli/AP
California Gov. Gavin Newsom says taking on MAGA Republicans doesn’t come naturally to Joe Biden.
“He’s hardwired for a different world, but that world is gone,” he said on MSNBC.
“We’ve got to hold them accountable,” he said of far-right Republicans.
President Joe Biden has “learned the hard way” that attempts to unite MAGA Republicans and Democrats around common values won’t work right now, California Gov. Gavin Newsom said on MSNBC.
Asked whether it’s a “fool’s errand” to try and bridge the gap between the left and right, Newsom said it is at the moment.
“I mean, he’s hardwired for a different world, but that world is gone and he’s acknowledged that very publicly on multiple occasions,” Newsom said during a wide-ranging interview with host Alex Wagner.
Newsom, who’s been calling out hardline Republican governors, said Biden’s decency, honor and character make it hard for him to take the fight to Republicans.
“He wants to compromise, he wants to find our better angels, and he wants to find that sweet spot in terms of answering our collective vision and values,” he said. “But that’s not how the system is designed.”
Newsom said this isn’t what the Supreme Court, redistricting efforts, or voter suppression efforts represent right now or “the rights that are being rolled back in real time.”
After campaigning on finding unity, Biden has more recently blasted MAGA Republicans as a threat to American democracy.
Newsom said his late mother might tell him to just model better behavior. “Well, we’ve been doing that, and people are losing their rights,” he said. “We’ve got to hold them accountable and, yes, we prepare ourselves for a great reconciliation.”
That’s coming, he said, because “for no other reason, we can’t live like this.”
Newsom has drawn attention recently for taking aim at Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, in particular.
He invited Floridians to California, “where we still believe in freedom,” in a $105,000 ad buy over the July 4 weekend, fueling national speculation about whether he’s considering his own 2024 bid.
He says he will not run for president in 2024, in part due to his close recall election last year.