Gov. gave a State of the State address Tuesday that could easily be viewed across the country—and for that matter, delivered to the party’s national convention in August. It was the sort of speech a president or presidential candidate might give.
In fact, Joe Biden pretty much did just that while running in 2020 and addressing Congress in March. Newsom, whose term as governor ends in 2027, has said repeatedly he’s not running for president in 2024. His office has not returned a request for comment.
For months Newsom has been taking the sorts of steps prospective presidential candidates do, traveling the country raising money, vigorously defending the Biden administration and aggressively spreading its message. Tuesday he delivered his State of the State address in an unusual fashion, as a video message that could be viewed just as easily in New Hampshire or Iowa as it was in Sacramento. Instead of speaking in person to the state legislature, he was on camera, flanked by three flags -- two American and on California.
It was an address whose first parts centered on broad themes. “He’s very aware of his national audience when he does anything. The fact he did macro themes is not surprising,” said Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist Institute for Public Opinion, which conducts the Newsom stressed how California’s successes and qualities could be the nation’s.
“Our state and this legislature are called upon to show America that an agenda of freedom over fear is.
