By Molly Goddard
1:01am PDT, Mar 18, 2025
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Gavin Newsom is getting people riled up with his latest venture.
The Democratic Governor of California recently launched his "This is Gavin Newsom" podcast on which he interviews supporters of President
Donald Trump such as
Charlie Kirk and
Steve Bannon in order to be seen as a more moderate politician.
Keep reading to see why Newsom is suddenly reaching across the aisle…
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Gavin Newsom, who's taken
heat for how he's handled the Los Angeles wildfires, has started to lean more toward the center of the political spectrum as he gears up for a potential run for the White House in 2028.
"I think he's playing the long game here. He realizes that he's got a lot of runway between now and the 2028 election," California Republican strategist
Matt Klink critiqued of the move, according to
The Hill.
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Matt Klink added that Gavin Newsom may be playing nice with conservatives to position himself "more as a moderate Democrat who is at least willing to listen to the thought
leaders that are shaping the Republican narrative."
In the official description for the series, the former mayor of San Fransisco vows to "change the conversation" by "talking directly with people I disagree with, people I look up to and you — the listeners."
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While right-wingers don't think the strategy is a sure bet to win the hearts of
voters, Gavin Newsom seems to be taking a page out of Donald Trump's playbook by jumping into the podcast space.
"Maybe it's that young male voter or somebody like that who his internal research has shown that he has a chance at appealing to," California Assemblymember
Mike Gatto told the outlet.
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"Perhaps it's the ever-shrinking pool of undecided voters, perhaps there's a demographic of people who say, 'Oh you know I listen to Charlie Kirk every once in a while, he makes some good points and I saw Gavin Newsom talking with him and Gavin seemed like a decent fella,'" Mike Gatto said of Gavin Newsom's strategy with his new podcast.
Despite the attempt at goodwill, some conservatives are outraged by the people the politician is bringing on his show: "Many of us on the right sacrificed careers to fight [Steve] Bannon and Newsom is trying to make a career and a presidential run by building him up," Representative Adam Kinzinger said.
"I think every move that Governor Newsom makes is calculated and calibrated as to how it impacts the future run for him," an anonymous Democratic strategist stated.
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Some Republicans are curious about Gavin Newsom's new strategy. "Newsom has a history of being a politician that will adapt to changing circumstances," Republican strategist
Rob Stutzman said.
"I think he's figured out the way forward for a politician like him, if he's going to run for president, is probably to start exploring, will anyone follow him into a lane that is more dismissive, particularly on culture, of where the
Democrats have been for the past decade?" he added.
