Once is a mistake, twice is poor judgement and if Gavin Newsom does this a third time, he is looking to commit political hari kari. And people are starting to tell him so. Newsom has begun a podcast and for his debut episode he had on Charlie Kirk. Kirk is supposed to be a wizard at messanging and apparently Newsom thinks that if he entertains the devil(s) and learns how they do evil, then that will help him on the course of righteousness. That’s my best guess, in any event, because I think what he’s doing is batshit. 100% proof, certifiable, bat guano.
This is not “learning about other people” this is platforming authoritarianism. wtf does @GavinNewsom think he’s accomplishing besides torching his prospects for the future?
Have real conservatives of which Bannon and Charlie Kirk ain’t pic.twitter.com/axbgwNm3lK
— Adam Kinzinger (Slava Ukraini) 🇺🇸🇺🇦🇮🇱 (@AdamKinzinger) March 12, 2025
Kinzinger is spot on. I have seriously contemplated writing Newsom a letter and asking him if he’s done lost his damn mind and see if I get a response. This is alarming for a number of reasons: First, in platforming the MAGA maniacs, Newsom is normalizing them. Second, in normalizing MAGA, he’s cosigning on the destruction of conservatism (what’s left of it) and elevating MAGA. Third, the optics of the governor of the nation’s largest state toadying to these extremists are horrific.
Maybe we should do an open letter to the governor. I truly cannot believe that he’s doing this. And I am not alone in this.
We know that Newsom was married to Kimberly Guilfoyle for a while. To be completely honest, now I’m starting to understand why. Guilfoyle very transparently wants money, power, prestige. She had no problem compromising what other values she may have had at the time to run off to Fox News and be a talking head for the Dark Side. And it looks like Newsom is ready to follow her down that path.
I think this is suicidal on Newsom’s part, although on the other hand, I do feel a sense of gratitude. If his values are this easily compromised and he’s ready to roll over for this reality TV clown show, which has polluted our politics the past ten years, then he needs to lose Democratic support and now.
What is needed going forward in America is a return to sanity, not a commitment to normalize insanity. What Newsom sees is power and he’s ready to cave in to it. I think the governor should examine the fact that Trump only won by a plurality of 1.5%. And he squeaked by on the popular vote with the slimmest margin since Richard Nixon.
We are a nation split down the middle, like King Solomon proposed to do with the baby in the famous fable. The next presidential election will be about a return to American values. Newsom would be far far better off if he sought out solid conservatives to talk to, rather than platforming MAGA extremists.
I think he’s making a horrific mistake and I think that come primary time, this is going to come back and bite him in the butt. I don’t know who is advising him at this point, but he needs to get a better group of advisors around him, if this is the kind of crooked path he’s embarked upon.
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The only advisor he may be listening to is that li’l inner voice that all politicians have, the one which exhorts them to ignore their conscience if that will benefit their political career. Or make them even richer, or (ideally) both. Apparently the inner voice’s invitation to moral bankruptcy is pretty seductive, judging by how many politicians answer its siren call.
So, last year, Kamala Harris was widely criticized for NOT going on Joe Rogan’s podcast, despite the fact there was really no REAL reason for her to do so. But so many people were saying “It’ll get her heard by a crucial demographic that’s largely ignoring her message” despite the reality that said demographic had little desire to listen to her (and to think that Rogan would be fair in his questions and “interview” was really stretching the imagination).
So now, Newsom has gotten into the podcast business and he’s getting criticized for hosting the “evil ones.”
Hmm. Seems that these two lines of thought are mutually exclusive (not to mention contradictory).
The bigger issue, it seems to me, is how a sitting governor, especially of the state with the single largest economy in the country, has time to do a podcast. This just simply is NOT right. I don’t care if it’s Ted Cruz or Gavin Newsom. Politicians, people who were elected to represent the interests of the voters, should NOT be allowed to be holding a “second” job. I have absolutely no problem with them being INTERVIEWED by podcasters (I’d prefer they actually be interviewed by REAL journalists, representing LEGITIMATE news organizations rather than some second-rate hack with no real political knowledge or experience but that’s a different issue) but they have NO business being the hosts of such programs. Wait till you’re out of office and do it so that the voters/taxpayers aren’t having their tax dollars wasted on YOUR little vanity project.
I’m on the other side of the country. For decades but it’s impossible (if one follows politics) not to have some sense of what’s going on in CA. When it comes to Newsome at times I’ve heard him mentioned as a possible President one day. Again, I haven’t spent any real time in his state since back in the 1980s but I’ve never seen him as holding up during the primary process. Maybe he’s realized that too and is trying to set himself up for a high paying TV gig that could let him play king/queen maker or something.
I disagree. I think Newsom talking to both sides is a wise move. If you want to be considered for president, you need to be able to speak to both sides. Isolating yourself from one side is not wise. Gavin is my gov and I’m a lifelong Democrat who will support him if he decides to run for office. To win votes, you have to appeal to not only one side but gets votes from indies who sit on the fence most often.
I also approve his stance on trans girls not being allowed to compete in girls’ sports. Most tras girls have larger muscles and can out preform regular girls and that’s unfair. Before you attack me, I have niece who is transitioning into a male and I support her journey.