Amid Biden stumbles, pressure grows for Gavin Newsom to decide on 2024 presidential run

California Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom has mum in the face of increased speculation about whether he will challenge President Joe Biden for the 2024 Democratic presidential nomination.

During a recent interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity, Newsom was asked if he had received any requests to jump into the presidential race due to growing concerns about Biden's health. 

"I see where you're going with that. No—I'm not answering," he responded. 

According to a recent poll from NPR, six out of 10 Americans think that Biden's mental fitness is a problem and will continue to be for 2024. 

Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis, who announced his candidacy for president last month, also recently called out Newsom asking if he was going to jump in. 

The two governors have gone back and forth criticizing each other for how they operated their states, specifically during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“[Newsom] has a real serious fixation on the state of Florida, I think it’s just bizarre that he does that,” DeSantis said at an event in Fort Pierce, according to Politico. 

“What I would tell him is — you know what, stop pussyfooting around," he continued. "Are you going to throw your hat into the ring and challenge Joe?”

Newsom has said before that he won't run for president in 2024. However, more speculation has come after he started a new political PAC to combat Republican policies in red states called "Campaign for Democracy."

The campaign's website states it was created to fight the rise of authoritarianism, and Newsom poured roughly $10 million into the PAC. 

"The Campaign for Democracy was founded to expose and fight rising authoritarianism across the nation," the website states. "We believe that all patriotic Americans must go on offense in red states as well as blue states, bringing the fight to statehouses, local communities, electoral battlegrounds, and our nation's capitol to save the great American experiment in democracy."

According to former California governor and movie star Arnold Schwarzenegger, it's inevitable that Newsom will run for president eventually. 

“I think it’s a no-brainer,” he said in an interview with the Hollywood Reporter. “Every governor from a big state wants to take that shot.”