Newsom’s Podcast Disaster: Why The Left Is Fuming And The Right Smells A Rat

With Kamala Harris’s spectacular failure in the November election, California Governor Gavin Newsom – despite running his state into the ground, may be Democrats’ best hope at victory in 2028. But his latest endeavor – theThis is Gavin Newsom Podcast – has left both progressives and conservatives scratching their heads. 

While Newsom pitched the show as a platform for engaging with both ideological allies and opponents, his first two guests – TPUSA co-founder Charlie Kirk and former Breitbart EIC Steve Bannon – have turned the effort into a full-blown spectacle.

The reaction from the left? Absolute fury. The reaction from the right? Distrust and ridicule. And from the voters? A mixed bag that could spell serious trouble for Newsom’s future ambitions.

Some key stats, according to a poll of 1,000 California voters conducted by Capitol Weekly (h/t Yashar Ali):

• While 54% said they had heard of the podcast, just 0.57% of California voters have listened to it, and 58% said they weren’t likely to listen.
• Favorability amongst liberals has dropped from 46% to 30%
• Republicans polled overwhelmingly viewed Newsom as insincere – calling him “fake,” and “pandering.”
• Newsom’s net favorability dropped from +4 to -6, a 10 point swing
• Just 13% of voters had an improved view of Newsom, and only 1 out of 5 polled said it made them want to tune in again.

Charlie Kirk

When Newsom announced that Charlie Kirk would be his first guest, progressives braced for a battle of ideas. Instead, they got a softball exchange where Newsom lavished Kirk with praise - agreeing with him 125 times and “appreciating” his ideas 52 times. Even Kirk, who makes a living bashing Newsom’s policies, found it over the top. “Governor Newsom was being overly effusive in his praise of me,” Kirk chuckled on his own podcast, before launching into his usual tirade about Newsom ruining California.

NEW: California Governor Gavin Newsom tells Charlie Kirk that his son is a massive Charlie Kirk fan.

Newsom: My son really wanted to meet you.

Kirk: You let him to take off school?

Newsom: No. Of course not. He’s not here for a good reason.

Kirk: Well you cancelled school… pic.twitter.com/Bh21YArY36

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) March 6, 2025

The backlash in Sacramento was swift. The Sacramento Bee’s Robin Epley declared the show “sucked,” while Los Angeles Times columnist Mark Barabak predicted Newsom might “talk himself to political death.” But the real political firestorm erupted when Newsom doubled down, inviting Steve Bannon as his next guest.

Newsom Ditches Wokes

Meanwhile, the interviews have further alienated Newsom’s traditional base. In a conversation with Kirk, he blasted the term “Latinx” as out of touch and mocked workplace pronoun declarations. Then, in an even more incendiary moment, he dismissed California’s 2013 policy allowing transgender students to compete in sports according to their gender identity, calling it “deeply unfair.”

California’s Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, long considered an LGBTQ ally, broke with his party, saying that transgender athletes playing in female sports is “deeply unfair” on the first episode of Newson’s new podcast released Thursday. pic.twitter.com/Nj25D89v12

— ABC News Live (@ABCNewsLive) March 7, 2025

Newsom’s comments triggered Sacramento’s LGBTQ leadership, who felt blindsided (literally shaking) by a governor who had long championed progressive social policies. One Democratic strategist likened the move to “sticking a fork in the eye of the base that got him elected.”

The right isn’t buying it, meanwhile.

“He’s a hypocrite… he allowed and pushed for transgenders to play in women’s sports in California and the rest of the country,” said one Republican voter.

The Podcast Gambit: Presidential Play or Media Mogul Move?

So, what’s Newsom’s endgame here? The obvious conclusion is that he’s trying to broaden his appeal ahead of a 2028 presidential run – hoping to carve out a more centrist, anti-woke lane in a Democratic field that may lean progressive. But others, including longtime GOP strategist Mike Madrid, argue that this isn’t about winning votes – it’s about building an empire.

Madrid cites a Newsom insider who claims the governor isn’t angling for the White House but rather positioning himself to become a media heavyweight. The model? Figures like Ben Shapiro and the Pod Save America crew, who have turned their political brands into lucrative media franchises. “The media terrain has shifted. Newsom is adapting. And if my source is right, he’s not running for President – he’s positioning himself for something even bigger. And he may just be giving Democrats a fighting chance,” Madrid argues.

If Newsom truly is ditching electoral politics for the media game, he’s doing a shitty job of it. His podcast has made him a pariah among progressives, while conservatives still see him as an untrustworthy leftist. And if this is a pivot to moderation, the numbers don’t show it paying off yet.

But Newsom has always thrived on controversy, and maybe—just maybe—he believes that the noise, outrage, and headlines are exactly what he needs to catapult himself into his next chapter. Whether that’s the Oval Office or a multimillion-dollar media empire remains to be seen.