Newsom Defies Own Travel Ban, Stumps for Biden in Idaho

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) is campaigning for President Biden in conservative states, raising money for the Democrat Party incumbent and trying to build a base for himself for a future presidential run.

That’s the analysis of the Los Angeles Times, which followed Newsom to deep-red Idaho. where he went over the Fourth of July weekend to raise money for Biden and attack local Republicans over social issues.

A year ago, Newsom told Biden that he would not be running against him in 2024. But he has worked to raise his national profile — and apparently hopes Democrat voters and donors will later reward his loyalty.

The Times noted:

Newsom, who hit the road during the Fourth of July holiday weekend, told a group of roughly 50 Democrats gathered in the backyard of a mansion overlooking the Boise foothills Saturday to make the “powerful case for why we should be passionate, enthusiastic about Biden’s reelection.”

…

Many of the Democrats who flocked to hear Newsom speak in Idaho and at a separate fundraising event earlier that day in Bend, Ore., said they thought the 55-year-old liberal governor offered a glimpse into the future of their party, a bolder, more charismatic and younger potential heir of Biden’s legacy in the post-Trump years.

…

Newsom says he has no interest in the White House and that his cross-country travels are to promote his party and president before the 2024 election.

The Times failed to note that Newsom violated his own state’s travel ban on Idaho, imposed in 2020 in response to Idaho laws barring transgender athletes from women’s sports, and preventing retroactive changes to gender on birth certificates.

A year ago, when Newsom violated the ban on a family vacation to Montana, his office admitted the state paid for security for his travel. California is rethinking the bans, which have been ineffective.

Newsom is notorious for violating his own rules. In November 2020, he infamously to dined at the exclusive French Laundry restaurant, maskless, with political cronies and lobbyists, came just after he issued guidelines urging restaurants to close during the coronavirus pandemic.