California Governor Gavin Newsom would prefer that GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley remain in the race so she can continue to attack Donald Trump, describing her as a “surrogate” for the Biden campaign, The Hill reported.
In an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press” broadcast on February 25, Newsom expressed surprise that some Democrats have been calling on Haley to drop out of the Republican primaries.
Describing Haley as “one of our better surrogates,” Newsom told host Kristen Welker that the former South Carolina governor had been very effective at “defining the opposition” to Trump.
While Newsom conceded that Haley had no chance of winning the nomination, he said she has been calling out Trump for his temperament, capacity, and how he has been “unraveling in real-time,” adding that the things Haley had been saying about Trump had him “applauding every single day.”
Following Haley’s 20-point loss to Donald Trump in her home state of South Carolina, many within the GOP were calling on the longshot candidate to drop out of the race. However, Haley insisted that she would stay in the race no matter what happened in South Carolina.
Haley told supporters after the South Carolina primary that she planned to continue her campaign at least through Super Tuesday, especially since the “majority of Americans disapprove of both Donald Trump and Joe Biden.”
Newsom told Kristen Welker that the Biden campaign knew that it had to focus all of its energy and attention on Donald Trump. He said it was clear that Trump would be the Republican nominee and the Biden campaign was aware of that.
Newsom also downplayed voter concerns about President Biden’s advanced age and fitness for office, telling Kirsten Welker that the president’s age and experience were precisely the reason he was such a successful president.
Newsom pointed to the massive legislative wins Biden secured in his first term and said voters should reward his success by reelecting him.
