John Fetterman Roasts Gavin Newsom: He’s Running Against Biden Without Having ‘The Guts to Announce It’

(AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) took a shot at California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) over the weekend, roasting the ambitious Democrat for running for president without having “the guts to announce it” in a speech in Iowa on Saturday.

“There are two additional Democrats running for Pennsylvania, excuse me, running for president right now. One is a congressman from Minnesota, the other one is the governor of California, but only one has the guts to announce it,” said Fetterman in comments first reported on by NBC News.

“If you are a Democrat that wants to criticize and go after Joe Biden, our president, just go ahead and write a check for [Donald] Trump,” Fetterman added.

Newsom has publicly backed Biden and insisted that he is not planning on running in 2024. However, his efforts to turn himself into a national figure with a ubiquitous media presence and a forthcoming debate with Republican presidential candidate and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) have raised questions over his motivations and whether he might be hedging his bets in case Biden’s political hand continues to weaken.

Asked by Fox News host Sean Hannity — who will moderate the debate between Newsom and DeSantis — whether he would accept the Democratic nomination in 2024 “under any circumstances” in September, Newsom answered, “of course not — it’s a hypothetical.”

“Yes or no?” asked Hannity again.

“No!” shouted Newsom before calling the question “ridiculous.”

Fetterman also referenced Rep. Dean Phillips’s (D-MN) nascent bid for the White House. Phillips announced his candidacy in October after sounding the alarm over Biden’s age and electability for over a year.

“Being old, in decline, and having numbers that are clearly moving in the wrong direction? It’s getting to red-alert kind of stuff,” the congressman told The Atlantic‘s Tim Alberta. “Someone had to do this.”

Phillips rejected Fetterman’s logic during a conversation with Alberta. “If it’s Joe Biden — if he kicks my tuchus in the opening states — he looks strong, and that makes him stronger.”

Biden is facing renewed skepticism from members of his own party after polling released over the weekend showed him trailing Trump in most swing states.