Gavin Newsom: It's complicated
California's governor will run for president in 2028. How should we feel about it? Well ...
Gavin Newsom is as easy to see through as a new window, and I’m quite certain his backers and detractors would all agree on the point. Whether you consider him to be great, good, OK, meh or shitty, it is inarguable that he is Jeff Beck-ambitious.
Or, put different: He is a 100-percent lock to run for president in 2028.
And, considering the hellscape we currently occupy, I’d be more than happy with a President Newsom. He’s a liberal Democrat from my home state. He’s smart, he’s savvy, he reads rooms, he’d do his all to eradicate the kill-all-of-us legacy of Donald Trump. Seriously, were Newsom to win I’d smile from ear to ear.
That said …
I don’t like him. I think he’s slimy. I think he’s slippery. I think he says what people want him to say, and I probably wouldn’t trust him to watch my wallet. I think he puts the opp in opportunist. And if you don’t know whereof I speak, check out the debut episode of his new podcast, which featured a sitdown with Charlie Kirk, the douchey MAGA right-wing agitator and founder of Turning Point.
The reaction to the interview has been, well, mixed. Some gave Newsom props for plopping down across from someone with opposite beliefs. But most just saw it for what it was: A governor nearing the end of his term looking to show moderates that, “Hey, I’m not as California as you think.” And I have a real problem with that because, ever since his initial election, Newsom has been as California as you’d think. He used to throw punches at Trump’s chin. He went after folks like Kirk with a Mike Tyson-esque fury. He boasted about this state’s liberal priorities; boasted about this state’s compassion, decency, empathy. He was our guy, and I was down with him.
Yet, with Kirk, Newsom felt small and reduced; desperate for approval from a 31-year-old turd who didn’t belong within 100 yards of the governor.
It was sad and pathetic reminder that, too often, our politicians value self-survival far more than national betterment.
It was a sad and pathetic reminder that Gavin Newsom might not be the guy we hoped he was.
Oh you’ve nailed it! While we obviously could do worse, he is as politician as it gets. A couple of years ago when he wasn’t quite as well known nationally, some friends from elsewhere in the country as well as outside the US asked me what I thought, and I referred to him as an empty suit. In the years since I have questioned whether I was too hard on him, but there’s something insincere there. Which means that the worst thing about him is that he could potentially capture the nomination without capturing the public mood, leaving us with President Vance
I agree 100%. Also, how does he have time to do a podcast when the world is in chaos all around us?