Gov. Gavin Newsom said Sunday he plans to run an ad protesting travel bans that are making it tough for women in states restricting abortion to leave their home state for the procedure.
“The conditions are much more pernicious than they even appear. These guys are not just restricting the rights, self-determination to bear a child for a young woman. But they’re also determining their fate as it relates to their future in life by saying they can’t even travel,” he told NBC News’ “Meet the Press,” which aired Sunday.
Newsom is in Washington for meetings with White House officials, President Joe Biden and the nation’s governors,.
Democrats see preserving abortion rights not only as an important policy but a significant political talking point, and Newsom has been aggressively promoting those views across the country.
“What I want is to see us assert ourselves on this issue. It’s a war on women,” he said. He did not criticize Biden, saying the president “should continue to do what he’s doing. He’s speaking with clarity, moral clarity, forcefully.”
Newsom cited states where a travel ban is being proposed or is in place. He discussed the recent Alabama Supreme Court ruling that embryos created by in vitro fertilization are children, sparking fear that someone who damages the embryos could face criminal penalties.
“The A.G. himself of Alabama wants to criminalize travel not just for children, but for adults seeking reproductive care. That’s how serious this moment is. And we need to be even more aggressive, I would argue. And that’s what this ad represents,” Newsom said.
He did not say where the ad would run or who was paying for it.
The governor said the Alabama decision was part of a Republican “war on women more broadly defined, including, as we know, contraceptives.”
Democrats see their strong, historic support for abortion rights as a major 2024 campaign asset. Newsom has been a strong supporter of President Joe Biden, and cited strong differences between the two parties on the issue.
Former President Donald Trump, who is expected to face off with Biden in November, has said privately he’s considering backing a 16-week federal ban on abortions that would include exceptions.
Newsom scoffed: “These people aren’t serious.”
Other Republicans will push for a tougher ban, the governor said, and Trump would sign such a national ban.
“You want to understand the contours of this debate that we will be having over the next nine months,” he said.
Newsom in 2024
“Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker asked Newsom if he has ruled out a run for president this November. He’s been asked that repeatedly and has maintained he would not.
“You’ve gotta be kidding,” he told Welker. “I am here celebrating the extraordinary accomplishments of the Biden-Harris administration, making the case that we need to make to lift up the issues, lift up the record, drive contrast with the Republican nominee to beat Trump.”
Welker pressed, asking if he had gotten any calls encouraging him to run.
“It’s all idle chatter. You know what? That’s a sideshow. I think what Democrats need to do is worry less, do more, continue to overperform as we have, continue to win, make the case,” he said.
So, asked Welker, is Newsom ruling out a run?
“It’s not even an interesting conversation. And, by the way, I think it’s a damning conversation, frankly, the other side wants us to have,” he said.
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Many conservatives have been convinced he’ll run. Newsom, once again, was dismissive of the speculation.
“At the end of the day, not only has this train left the station, but we get to enjoy a record of accomplishment as we make the case in a re-election, the likes of which we couldn’t even have dreamt of even as a Democrat last century,” he said.
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