Gavin Newsom has dismissed claims he could replace Joe Biden on the presidential ticket as 'farcical'.
He said it was 'really distressing' to have to respond to questions about whether he could be a substitute for the 81-year-old.
The Californian Governor made the comments to DailyMail.com as he strolled the red carpet at CNN's spin room ahead of the presidential debate in Atlanta between Biden and Donald Trump.
Moments later, Biden stumbled through what even Democrats described as a 'painful' 90 minutes, repeatedly losing his train of thought and trailing off.
It has led to calls for Biden to be replaced as the Democrat nominee.
But Newsom, who many believe will mount a future presidential bid, touted Biden's accomplishments as he slammed Trump.
When pressed by DailyMail.com specifically on whether he would be willing to step in for Biden should the president bow out before this year's election, Newsom shot it down.
'It's a non sequitur. I don't even understand the context of that,' he responded.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom said that the idea he would replace Joe Biden as the Democrat frontrunner is 'farcical' and that Biden is his guy
'This is a President of the United States running for re-election. He's our guy. And that's part of the diversion tactic of the right – to continue to sort of muddy the waters on all of that and that nonsensical speculation,' he said.
'It's just like the absurdity of who's going to get an injection shot. I mean this is farcical. It's serious stuff – democracy, freedom, liberty, rights,' the California Democrat continued.
He claimed it was 'really distressing' to him to have to talk about the notion of replacing the 81-year-old president, who is already the oldest in U.S. history.
'And to see it trivialized, as we're trivializing it even having these conversations is really distressing to me as an American citizen, not just as a Democrat.'
And it is not anywhere as important as avoiding another Trump presidency, he added.
Newsom claimed Biden has 'done a remarkable job in three and a half years,' noting how he 'created eight times more jobs than the last three Republican administrations combined.'
'We're gonna be talking about an economy that's come roaring back, inflation that's been tamed,' the California Democrat said rosily. 'We're going to talk about a vision for the future.'
Trump and Biden will square off in the first presidential debate of 2024 Thursday at 9 p.m.
And then he went back to praising the president.
'We're going to talk about American industrial policy and manufacturing, and the accomplishments, bipartisan, accomplishments of this administration.'
'And we're going to compare and contrast that to a dystopian vision of the future that's darker.'
'Where one is fueled by revenge and incriminations in the content of Trump's desire to seek the presidency for a second time.'
He also dismissed questions about Biden's mental acuity and fitness after age became a clear centerpiece of this year's election.
Specifically, he downplayed criticism over Biden freezing at a Los Angeles fundraiser earlier this month. Former President Barack Obama was forced to grab and guide his once-vice president off stage.
'So the weaponization of these clips, it was ridiculous,' Newsom told CNN during an interview before the debate.
'That's for hours and hours on the photo line with President Obama,' the governor added. 'He had just found back from the G7...he had barely slept. No one could have kept that schedule.'
'He did a wonderful job in private with all the donors, with surrogates, did an amazing job on stage.'
Former President Barack Obama seen giving Biden's arm a gentle tug and leading him off the stage after the president freezes at a fundraiser in Los Angeles earlier this month
