California Gov. Gavin Newsom joked about the process that landed Vice President Kamala Harris the Democratic presidential nomination, saying in an interview posted Friday that he was “told to say” it was an open, inclusive process.
President Biden’s blockbuster announcement last month that he was ending his re-election bid for a second term in the White House resulted in Harris replacing him at the top of the ticket. She has since enjoyed a surge in polling and fundraising, but never received a vote as the Democratic Party quickly embraced her to lead the ticket.
Critics of the Democratic Party have suggested Harris got the nomination without the true will of the voters, but Newsom appeared to find the process humorous.
“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,” Newsom said as he laughed during a talk with “Pod Save America” posted Friday.
Newsom then joked that Democrats held a 30-minute convention between tweets by Biden on July 21 announcing he left the race and then had endorsed Harris.
“It’s been amazing,” quipped Newsom, who’s widely seen as having future White House ambitions himself.
Democrats like Nancy Pelosi have claimed the nomination wasn’t orchestrated in Harris’ favor after Biden dropped out.
The clip drew criticism as it began to circulate on social media on Friday.
“The Party of Democracy sits around guffawing at how anti-democratic and vote-free and secret was their process for choosing and then imposing the new Democratic presidential nominee on the country,” journalist Glenn Greenwald responded.
Another critic added, “Gavin Newsom knows the Harris nomination was a top-down coup, and they’re all cynical about it. Is this the ‘democracy’ they want to save? What a sick joke on their own supporters and this country.”
Institute for Black Solidarity with Israel CEO Dumisani Washington wrote, “The party always screaming about DEI and White privilege love using DEI to flaunt their White privilege. Isn’t screwing over the voters funny?”
Harris formally accepted the Democratic presidential nomination Thursday night.
Biden clinched the party’s nomination in March against minimal opposition, but everything changed after his disastrous debate performance in June. Media allies and fellow Democrats who had defended his mental acuity and fitness for office changed their tune and called for him to exit the race, and despite his initial claims only God could get him out, he finally succumbed to pressure and stepped aside.
