Newsom dodges when asked if he'd support VP Harris as Biden replacement

California Gov. Gavin Newsom dodged the question when a reporter asked if he would support Vice President Kamala Harris should President Biden drop out of the 2024 race. 

"Yeah, I don't even like playing in the hypothetical, because last night was about sort of locking down any doubt or ambiguity. And then we start running in different directions, zig zag, you know, all that kind of speculation and that gets in the way of progress," Newsom said Thursday while in South Haven, Michigan, for an appearance at the Van Buren County Democratic Party's Fourth of July reception.

Pundits have floated Newsom as a potential alternative to Biden, should the 81-year-old president decide against continuing his re-election campaign after his disastrous performance at the CNN Presidential Debate. But first he would have to upset Harris, who is Biden's heir apparent. 

Rather than affirm his support for the vice president, Newsom called the question a distraction. 

"It's a legitimate question that I respect and appreciate it. But if you can appreciate my point of view that it's very unhelpful and it's exactly the question and answer that the Republican Party right now wants us to have in that kind of two way conversation, give and take. I'm not going to play into that. Joe Biden's our president, he said he's all in. I double down, saying I'm all in. And not only that, I'm here with you to prove it."