Newsom argues consequences of Trump reelection would be 'profound and pronounced'

California Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a new interview that Democrats are right to fear the possible reelection of former President Donald Trump as he and other allies of President Joe Biden seek to create a clear «contrast» heading into November's general election.

Speaking to ABC News «This Week» co-anchor Jonathan Karl in an interview that aired Sunday, Newsom both lambasted Trump's refusal to concede the 2020 election results and praised Biden's record since taking office — a strategy the Biden campaign is expected to highlight in the months ahead as the president confronts persistently low approval ratings and poor early polling against Trump.

«Here's a guy who lost the election — Trump — and tried to wreck the country. He's lighting democracy on fire, he's making democracy a partisan issue. I never imagined that in my lifetime,» Newsom told Karl in South Carolina, where he was stumping for Biden.

«So the consequences are profound and pronounced,» Newsom said, «and that's why I'm down here because this race is started.»

That's also why, Newsom said, «We need to lift up the issues, the successes, these extraordinary successes of the last three years, the Biden-Harris administration. And then we drive contrast. It's not even a complicated campaign.»

Nonetheless, Karl pressed Newsom on why, if Biden's record is as strong as Newsom feels it is, Biden's approval ratings remained mired in the 30s in most polls.

«Look, it's been hard globally, the last six, seven years.” Newsom responded. “But again, America stands tall. We're the tentpole of the world economy — no peers economically, again a masterclass of delivery. The economy is booming, inflation is cooling.… He's delivered.»

Still, the governor acknowledged the polls and said,