The Gavin Newsom Backlash is Still Building Steam

The only reason that everyone isn’t talking about what a terrible week Gavin Newsom is having is that people are too busy talking about what a terrible week Chuck Schumer is having.

Still, almost as many Democrats seem irritated and fed up with Newsom as with Schumer. The source of that irritation is Newsom’s new podcast where he has so far invited as guests: Charlie Kirk, Michael Savage and Steve Bannon. Michelle Goldberg has an opinion piece about this today.

I was open to the idea behind Gavin Newsom’s new podcast, in which the California governor has been breaking out of his political bubble to talk at length with right-wing media stars such as Charlie Kirk and Steve Bannon. Democrats need to get better at speaking to people who don’t share their assumptions and at long-form conversations requiring improvisation and spontaneity. They need to be willing to take risks and to use conflict to generate attention…

What could have been a show of intellectual confidence on Newsom’s part has turned out to be a demeaning display of submission…

It was especially ill advised for Newsom to roll out his pivot on trans women in sports in a conversation with Kirk, a man who once described trans people as “disgusting, mentally ill, neurotic, predatory freaks.” As a matter of both political expediency and simple honesty, Democrats should be able to acknowledge that it’s unfair to expect elite female athletes to compete against trans women who’ve gone through male puberty. But at a time when the Trump administration has singled trans people out for persecution, Democrats need to couple their recognition of physical difference with a broader defense of trans rights.

Instead, Newsom emphasized how much he and Kirk agreed about. “The issue of fairness is completely legit,” he said. “So I completely align with you. And we’ve got to own that.”

So many things to say about this I don’t know where to begin. In no particular order:

• Newsom is right about this being unfair! That ought to be the most important thing here but clearly that’s not enough.
• Goldberg admits what he’s saying is right and still faults him for saying it. Does she want him to not say it? Say it differently? What is her issue?
• Goldberg isn’t being fair to his full answer. He did go on to say that he had a problem with how some on the right expressed themselves about trans issues. She doesn’t really mention that or give him credit for it.
• The key word in her entire piece may be this one: submission. She’s upset that Newsom is losing points. More broadly, she’s upset Newsom is treating these people like equals rather than cartoon villains.
• Goldberg opened by saying this podcast could have been a good idea because Dems need to talk to people outside the bubble (“who don’t share their assumptions”). But talking to people means treating them like equals. She seems to want Newsom not to talk to people on the right but to talk down to them.
• There’s an implication here, unstated, that she could do better. If she were only sitting across from Charlie Kirk or Michael Savage she’d be tougher. I’m not sure she’s right about that. Newsom is too slick by half but he’s a better speaker than most Democrats.

There’s a lot more to say but let’s move on to another complaint, this one from Adam Kinzinger who thinks Newsom is making a big mistake even talking to Steve Bannon.

I am in shock at the stupidity of @GavinNewsom inviting Steve Bannon on his podcast. Many of us on the right sacrificed careers to fight Bannon, and Newsom is trying to make a career and a presidential run by building him up. Unforgivable and insane pic.twitter.com/QD25h1mxT5

— Adam Kinzinger (Slava Ukraini) 🇺🇸🇺🇦🇮🇱 (@AdamKinzinger) March 12, 2025

Jane Fonda doesn’t get it either. She says Newsom is essentially meeting with Nazis and acting like Neville Chamberlain. She sees no benefit to any of it.

Jane Fonda slams Gavin Newsom, comparing him to Neville Chamberlain, the British prime minister known for his policy of appeasement toward Nazi Germany, rather than Winston Churchill, who led Britain through World War II with resilience and defiance.

She argues that Newsom… pic.twitter.com/dCqXNoocwZ

— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) March 14, 2025

Jumping back to Goldberg’s column, there are more than 2.000 comments on her piece, most of them disagreeing with Goldberg and saying Newsom is trying his best to get the Democratic Party out of a ditch. (Note: This is the top comment with over 1,600 votes)

It shows how left wing Goldberg is that she sees Gavin pandering to the right.

What he’s doing, and what smart Democrats should be doing, is “pandering” to the centrists of the country….the quiet centrists.  The same centrists who switched to Trump in this election because Harris/Goldberg are Progressives and the same centrists who, by the millions, voted for Biden but stayed home in order to not vote for Harris/Progressives.

Lots more like this:

What’s the alternative to seeking common ground with those with whom we disagree? Retreating to our respective echo chambers and preaching to the choir? That’s what everyone {including Goldberg} has been doing, and look where we are.

One more:

Michelle needs to read the room.

The Democratic Party brand is in the toilet right now.  They have lost the trust of voters after the “Biden is sharp as a tack” ruse, followed by the  switcheroo for the annointed Kamala Harris.

The fact that Trump secured the border so quickly and is so much more visible and active than the stage-managed Biden has only added to the perception of weakness and impotence on the part of Democratic leadership.  Chuck Schumer’s “We will win!” rally, and the auction paddles at Trump’s address, continue to reinforce this perception.

Democrats need to emerge from the ashes as something else — something people can relate to — and Newsom is trying to do that instead of falling back on the same hysteria and tired tropes espoused by talking heads on the left.

Remember, one of the turning points in the last campaign was when Trump went on Joe Rogan’s show and talked to him like a normal person for nearly 3 hours and Harris just came up with excuses for why she couldn’t do the show at Joe’s studio in Austin or b) could only spare an hour to talk. After the loss there were lots of people on the left arguing that Democrats needed to either create their own Joe Rogan or come up with candidates who could talk to him.

All that to say, I think the commenters’ analysis is right. Newsom is trying to solve one of the Dems’ biggest problems. But of course in Newsom’s case the political is personal. He’s not really doing this for the party. He’s doing this for himself. He wants to be president and part of that means becoming the guy who will talk to anyone and go on any show.

So let’s wrap this up with a video from the Rubin Report. Where Goldberg sees Newsom being submissive, Rubin sees him getting “smacked around” by his guests. Jillian Michaels gives Newsom credit for talking to people on the other side but also notes that Newsom is “using” those Republicans to pursue his ambitions.

Can you hear him saying in the campaign “I had Charlie Kirk on my show and I took a lot of heat from the left for that.” This is Newsom’s rope-a-dope strategy, i.e. he gets the woke left to wear itself out now throwing punches that will be old news and mostly forgotten 4 years from now.

“If he was actually a decent governor, this would be hopeful, but I think he’s a horrendous governor and a frightful human being.” – @JillianMichaels

Gavin Newsom getting slapped around as a public sport is only to win him voter brownie points. Still fun though. @RubinReport pic.twitter.com/HkW9YPeUIX

— The Rubin Report (@RubinReportShow) March 14, 2025