Sen. John Fetterman swiped at California Governor Gavin Newsom while speaking at an Iowa Democratic Party dinner on Saturday evening.
Fetterman said that Newsom is running for president against Joe Biden but doesn’t have the “guts” to announce it.
“There are two additional Democrats running for Pennsylvania, excuse me, running for president right now,”Fetterman said. “One is a congressman from Minnesota, the other one is the governor of California, but only one has the guts to announce it.”
The Pennsylvania senator also expressed his unwavering support for Biden, saying, “if you are a Democrat that wants to criticize and go after Joe Biden, our president, go ahead and write a check for Trump.”
Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has also blasted Newsom for campaigning without announcing.
Ramaswamy said during a speech in Iowa City last month, “The man is running for president, doing it and doing it in disguise, doing it with a track record at a state that is more disastrous by the day.”
Newsom has repeatedly claimed to support Biden while clearly trying to position himself to become the nominee.
NBC News notes, “Newsom’s recent trip to Beijing, where he met with Chinese President Xi Jinping, along with his decision to participate in a televised debate with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis — a Republican presidential candidate who sits on the opposite end of the ideological spectrum to Newsom — has fueled speculation that he’s positioning himself as a possible Democratic presidential contender.”
The outlet reports that Newsom’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
