With Biden 2024 in doubt, Bay Area voters give blunt assessment of Gov. Newsom's presidential future
San Francisco Bay Area residents say California Gov. Gavin Newsom should run for president in 2024 if President Biden decides to not seek a reelection bid.
SAN FRANCISCO – California Gov. Gavin Newsom should run for president in 2024 if President Biden does not run for a second term, some Bay Area voters told Fox News.
"I think it's great," Susan, a San Francisco resident, said of a Newsom presidential bid. "I think he's a great governor, and I think he could be an incredible president."
But Keith said a Newsom presidency would be "absolutely horrible."
"He's just a complete hypocrite," Keith told Fox News.
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California Gov. Gavin Newsom is expected to be a Democratic presidential candidate in 2024 if President Biden doesn't run for re-election. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
In his first sit-down interview with an American TV journalist in 200 days, Biden told CBS' "60 Minutes" on Sunday that "it’s much too early" for him to make a decision on launching a re-election bid. Newsom reportedly plans to launch a presidential bid for 2024 if Biden doesn't.
"Gavin Newsom is great on thinking about issues before other people are thinking about them," Lucy, a longtime Bay Area resident, told Fox News.
John, who has lived in San Francisco for decades, also said the California Democrat would make a good president.
"I've lived here for a long time, and so he was a good mayor for San Francisco and a good governor for California," he said.
Katherine said, "Whether it's 2024 or 2028, he'll be a fantastic president."
Newsom speaks at an event with Vice President Kamala Harris in Oakland. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Another San Francisco resident, Joe, said Newsom would be a "great candidate."
"He's got a lot of passion," Joe said. "I think he's willing to talk fairly to both sort of constituents, not just Democrats."
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However, not everyone supported a Newsom presidential bid.
Newsom "is just telling everybody that they have to get an electric vehicle by 2035, and then they're saying, well, the grids aren't 100%, so don't charge your car this week," Keith said.
California regulators recently announced that the sale of new gas-powered vehicles would be banned in the state by 2035. A week later, the state faced a power shortage and asked residents to conserve electricity.
"He's telling everybody in 2020, make sure you mask up," Keith added. "And he's at the French Laundry restaurant … with a bunch of people with no masks on."
Keith calls Newsom a "hypocrite" and says the governor wouldn't make a good president. (Fox News Digital/ Jon Michael Raasch)
In November 2020, while indoor mask mandates were in place in California, Newsom was photographed unmasked at the Michelin star-rated restaurant.
"He's mostly on the right side of history," Harold said. "But I also know that from his past positions as mayor and governor, well, he hasn't been perfect at it, and he might not be perfect if he's president."
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Others supported the idea of Newsom running for president, but were unsure that 2024 would be his year.
"I don't think it's his time yet," Max said. "But if he did run at some point, yes, 100%."
Michael told Fox News: "I don't think he really probably has a chance."
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