California Gov. Gavin Newsom ducks 2024 White House query:

California Gov. Gavin Newsom sidestepped a question Monday about whether he’s been pressed to jump into the 2024 presidential race as polls show Americans are concerned about President Biden’s fitness for office. 

“I see where you’re going with that. No — I’m not answering,” Newsom told Fox News’s Sean Hannity when the host asked if Newsom’s phone was inundated with requests for him to throw his hat in the ring.

Buzz about Newsom entering the 2024 fray has swirled for some time, but the Golden State governor sought to quell those rumors when he endorsed Biden’s re-election bid in April. 

Thus far, the 80-year-old Biden hasn’t drawn a challenge from a sitting Democrat politician.

He is currently opposed by spiritual guru and self-help author Marianne Williamson and environmental lawyer Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Looming over Biden’s re-election bid are concerns about his age and vitality.

Only 32% of voters felt Biden possessed the mental sharpness needed to be commander in chief, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll released last month. 

A CBS News/YouGov survey released Sunday found just 58% of Democrats thought Biden should be running for re-election, with 75% of self-described independents opposed to the idea.

Among Democrats who thought Biden shouldn’t run, 45% said that they feared he would not be able to finish a second term, while 20% said they didn’t like his chances of winning re-election.

Newsom shrugged off those concerns about Biden’s fitness, telling Hannity: “I have conversations with him all the time.

“Yes, I do [believe he’s sharp enough],” the governor added. “I’m dead serious about that.”

Newsom has bolstered his national profile in recent days by attacking Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for shipping migrants to Sacramento from the US-Mexico border and last week proposed a “28th Amendment” restricting gun ownership.

The governor also praised former President Donald Trump for his response to the COVID-19 pandemic, saying: “It was incredible. He … played no politics during COVID with California – played none whatsoever – it’s a fact.”

Newsom went on to call the homeless situation in his state a “disgrace,” blaming a number of factors.

“Housing costs are too high. Our regulatory thickets are too problematic. Localism has been too impactful, meaning people locally are pushing back against new housing starts and construction. I’ve been here four years,” he said. “I can’t make up for the fact, in 2005, we had an historic number of homeless under a Republican administration.”

“We own this, Sean,” Newsom added. “I’m not — I’m not here defending this.”

Newsom’s full interview with Sean Hannity airs at 9 p.m. on Fox News Channel.