The US presidential joker had an alcohol problem and can barely read
What will happen if the ailing Joe Biden has to abandon his candidacy after all? The governor of California is then considered the favorite for the Democratic candidacy. The dazzling media star is already running an active shadow election campaign.
Gavin Newsom is not on the ballot paper for the US Democratic primaries that are about to begin. But he is doing everything as if he already is. The smart governor of California is campaigning nationwide, he has founded a fundraising campaign committee "Campaign for Democracy", is meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel and with Xi Jinping in China and is having his photo taken at the Great Wall of China with aviator goggles for media attention. He is contesting a televised election duel with the governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, although of the two, only DeSantis has so far declared his intention to become the next US president.
In short, Newsom is running a pretty loud shadow campaign. He is the candidate who is not officially a candidate. The governor is seen as the clear favorite of the Democrats in the event that the ailing US President Joe Biden has to drop out of the election race after all - due to age, health or because the polls remain as disastrous as they currently are. There is unrest in the party because Biden, in his shaky state, is hardly believed to be capable of beating Donald Trump or the moderate Nikki Haley in the election campaign. Newsom, on the other hand, would be the embodiment of the new generation.
He is telegenic, smart, a successful baseball player and a modern incarnation of liberal California. He was mayor of San Francisco and introduced marriage for homosexuals there on his own initiative. He has a touch of Hollywood about him - and so (although he rejects its political agenda) he repeatedly follows in the footsteps of Ronald Reagan, who once made it to the White House as the acting governor of California. It fits into the glamorous picture that he is married to the women's and environmental movement actress and documentary filmmaker Jennifer Siebel.
Much further to the left than Biden
At first glance, Newsom would be the perfect replacement for Joe Biden. California has traditionally played a prominent role in the political zeitgeist of the USA. And Newsom is using this position to formulate his vision for a modern America. He has mastered the craft of activist politics from within the executive branch. Time and again, he launches provocative initiatives for his left-green agenda, particularly in climate policy. For example, he is currently suing the oil companies Exxon, Shell, Chevron, ConocoPhillips and BP for their alleged complicity in global warming. Newsom is an outspoken advocate for same-sex marriage, the right to abortion, universal health insurance for illegal immigrants, the legalization of marijuana, strict gun laws and immigrant rights. He describes the historical treatment of the indigenous population of the USA as genocide and is one of the most prominent opponents of the death penalty.
However, Newsom's risk begins with his edgy agenda. He is positioned significantly further to the left than Joe Biden and only just to the right of Bernie Sanders. However, as elections are also won in the middle in America, he would have to position himself more moderately in order to be fit for the presidency. He has been doing this for several months. For example, he recently backed down on his project for state injection sites for drug addicts, then opposed the unions on a collective bargaining bill and finally joined the Republicans when he vetoed an initiative to ban discrimination based on the Indian caste system. Such a ban was unnecessary, he said.
Three problems
But the Democrats' campaign strategists are worried about something else. Behind the façade of being a bright-eyed man, Newsom also offers areas of attack on a personal level. In 2007, for example, Newsom publicly admitted to having an alcohol problem. He sought advice from Mimi Silbert, head of a drug counseling foundation in San Francisco, but denied having received treatment in 2018. Newsom also said at the time that he had not had problems with drinking for years and that he was "enjoying a little wine again".
The second sensitive issue concerns a pronounced reading disability; he suffers from a severe form of dyslexia. Newsom speaks openly about the fact that he has suffered from it all his life, never attended a proper university and has never read a novel in his life. To compensate for this weakness, he prepares himself particularly thoroughly for debates and speeches. Political opponents are now addressing this by pointing out that a man who cannot read properly cannot possibly become president of the USA.
Newsom's third private problem concerns his varied affections for women. He once had a headline-grabbing affair with the wife of his campaign manager. Before his marriage to Jennifer Siebel, he was married for four years to the glamorous television presenter Kimberly Guilfoyle. Ironically, Guilfoyle is now in a relationship with Donald Trump Junior. It could therefore happen that in the 2024 presidential election campaign Gavin Newsom not only meets Donald Trump, but also his ex as his rival's daughter-in-law.
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- Despite his current alcohol problem, which he publicly admitted to in 2007, Gavin Newsom continues to gain momentum as a potential Democratic candidate for the US presidency, should Joe Biden be unable to run.
- If elected, Gavin Newsom, who has a severe form of dyslexia and has never read a novel, would become the first US president with such a reading disability.
- TheUS presidential joker's jester, who has been linked to multiple women in the past, may face challenges in balancing his personal life and the US presidential campaign, should he decide to run.
Source: www.ntv.de
