Gavin Newsom Jokes Kamala Harris Was Picked in ’30-Minute Convention’

Amid this week’s Democratic National Convention (DNC), California Governor Gavin Newsom joked that Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, was picked in a “30-minute convention.”

Harris has swiftly established herself as the Democrats’ nominee shortly after President Joe Biden announced he was dropping out of the race on July 21, giving her his endorsement. Biden decisively won the Democratic primary contest, but pulled out after coming under intense pressure from within his own party, amidst increased concern over the 81-year-old’s age and mental agility.

The continued support around Harris led her to accept the party’s official nomination on the final night of the DNC in Chicago on Thursday.

“I want you to know I promise to be a president for all Americans,” Harris told supporters. “You can always trust me to put country above party and self. To hold sacred America’s fundamental principles from the rule of law to free and fair elections, to the peaceful transfer of power.”

Appearing live during the DNC in a podcast called Pod Save America, which was released on Friday, Newsom spoke about the convention and the subsequent nomination of Harris.

When asked by one of the show’s hosts how he felt “about the switch,” seemingly referring to Biden stepping down and Harris replacing him, the governor joked about how fast things changed.

“We went through a very open process and a very inclusive process…a 30-minute convention between tweets and other tweets. It’s amazing and you know what is amazing is how unified everyone is. I mean it’s next level,” Newsom said.

While Newsom, has continuously supported Biden during the 2024 election, he has also been a supporter of Harris as the two hail from California and have known each other for years.

“Almost 25 years before we were both in politics…we were friends before. None of us knew what we were going to do in the future,” Newsom said of his relationship with Harris on Friday’s podcast.

Newsweek has reached out to Harris’ campaign via email for comment.

In a statement on August 2, Democratic National Committee chairman Jaime Harrison announced that Harris had enough delegates to become the nominee and said, “In the span of just a few weeks, Vice President Kamala Harris continues to break records—and today is no different.”

He added: “With the support of more than 50 percent of all delegates just one day into voting, Vice President Harris has the overwhelming backing of the Democratic Party and will lead us united in our mission to defeat Donald Trump in November.”

However, since Harris began her bid for the White House, Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, has continued to criticize and question whether she has the “right” to run for the presidency.

Following Harris’ acceptance of the Democratic nomination on Thursday, the former president posted to Truth Social, his social media platform, and criticized her.

“What gives her the right to run for President? She got no votes to Biden’s 14 Million. She failed in her previous attempt, was the first one out of 22 people to quit, never made it to Iowa, and now she’s a Presidential Candidate? This is a Threat to Democracy!” he wrote.

While Biden’s exit so close to the November election was unprecedented, Richard Pildes, a constitutional law professor at New York University School of Law, previously told Newsweek in an email earlier this month, “There is absolutely nothing unconstitutional about the Democratic Party choosing the nominee it prefers through the vote of the Democratic National Convention (DNC), which is what happened here. President Biden withdrew, and the DNC then chose its nominee.”