Gavin Newsom, the Democrat Governor of California, has passed the state’s largest reproductive freedom bills and enshrined protections for LGBTQ+ youth in school. Charlie Kirk is a conservative influencer who is staunchly against LGBTQ+ rights and the separation of church and state. The two sat down in early March on Newsom’s podcast, “This Is Gavin Newsom”. They seemingly put aside their ideological differences as they joked and talked politics throughout the hour-long episode.
Newsom has invited various guests across the political spectrum onto his podcast, fulfilling his promise: “It’s time to have an honest discussion with people that agree and disagree with us.” For example, Steve Bannon, Michael Savage, and Tim Walz have all been guests on the show. Newsom’s past national appearances, in addition to his new show, have many wondering about his Presidential viability. However, his newfound relationships with conservatives are leaving his liberal base feeling sour.
Newsom’s embrace of the right parallels a conservative surge across the country—all seven swing states went Trump in the 2024 election. Moreover, ten counties in California shifted from Biden in the 2020 election to Trump in the 2024 election. In an interview with NBC News in mid-April, Newsom boldly critiqued the Democrat Party. Saying, “This party needs to rebuild itself from the bottom up, not top down. We are as dumb as we want to be.”
Newsom’s not wrong. The Democrat Party has had a rough couple of years of low approval ratings and poor messaging. Joe Biden’s approval rating fell 21 points from January 2021 to July 2024. Harris’s loss in the 2024 election is blamed on a myriad of factors: not separating herself from Biden, avoiding media interviews, and a lack of demographic gains she was expected to win. Newsom is attempting to expose himself to an entirely new audience by inviting conservative thinkers. His podcast serves to build up his national brand and popularity in preparation for the 2028 Presidential race.
Interestingly enough, this is not Newsom’s first attempt to put himself in the national spotlight. In April 2023, Newsom embarked throughout deep red states to promote democracy in his “Campaign for Democracy”. His motivation for his travels: “The problem with our country right now is authoritarian leaders who are so hell-bent on gaining power and keeping it by whatever means necessary.” Despite taking on a very national challenge, he reiterated he has no interest in running for President. Newsom also challenged Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to a debate that resembled a Presidential debate. He strongly attacked DeSantis’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the extreme abortion bans in Florida. Again, his claimed disinterest in Presidential politics seems feigned.
Newsom’s engagement with varying political influencers introduces him to a variety of audiences. For example, Kirk’s main demographic is young, white, and conservative men, and Tim Walz’s demographic is Midwestern Democrats residing in swing states. This helps Newsom gain recognition in every corner of the country. And by engaging with a variety of audiences, he shifts his image away from a woke, liberal Californian, a persona hated by most Americans. One key way in which he did that was by changing his stance on transgender athletes in sports. In the episode with Kirk, he said, “It is an issue of fairness – it’s deeply unfair.”
Newsom’s goal to be a more centrist candidate for the 2028 Presidential election risks alienating his own party. Rep. Becca Balint, a Democrat from Vermont, expresses her apathy towards the podcast: “I haven’t listened to it, and I don’t think I will listen to it.” While Governor Andy Beshear, Democrat from Kentucky, expressed his frustrations with Newsom’s willingness to give the wrong people a platform: “Steve Bannon espouses hatred and anger and even at some points violence and I don’t think we should give him oxygen on any platform – ever, anywhere.”
Beshear makes an important point, Bannon was openly involved in the January 6th insurrection. On the podcast, he attempted to justify the violent demonstrations as a grassroots, populist movement. For Newsom to even allow Bannon on his podcast sets the precedent that deniers of democracy deserve a platform. Moreover, it completely contradicts his mission of the “Campaign of Democracy”, in which he adamantly opposes leaders who hold onto power in any way they can. This attempt to engage with people he disagrees with doesn’t paint him as the tolerant Democrat he aims to be; rather, he reeks of inauthenticity.
Newsom’s attempts to engage with people across the political spectrum can be appreciated. Political polarization has worsened in this country. Republicans and Democrats are increasingly moving further away from the median and viewing each other as threats. His podcast has the right intentions by attempting to bridge the gap between the two parties. However, by exploiting hot-button issues and inviting guests who are anti-democratic, Newsom is prioritizing his coverage rather than fostering partisan relationships. The motivations behind “This is Gavin Newsom” ring more personal, rather than a part of the national effort to dismantle polarization and restore democracy.
Featured Image Source: Fox News
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