Latest news with #ThisIsGavinNewsom
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Their political futures uncertain, Newsom and Harris go on the road to Compton to feed young dreams
California's two most prominent Democrats remain mum on their future plans, but former Vice President Kamala Harris and Governor Gavin Newsom both took time to tend to their political personas in Compton Thursday, attending separate events at local schools. As hundreds of graduating seniors crossed the stage in their blue and white regalia early that morning at Compton High School, many paused to shake hands and take selfies with an honored guest on the dais: the former vice president herself, who'd made a surprise appearance after being invited by a graduating student. Several hours later, Newsom read to young students at Compton's Clinton Elementary School before standing with local leaders in front of a cheery, cartoon mural to launch a new state literacy plan. The issue is one of deep importance to the governor, whose own educational career was often defined by his dyslexia. Read more: Who is running for California governor in 2026? Meet the candidates The adjacent appearances, which occurred a few miles apart, were "coincidental," Newsom said. But they come at a moment when both the high-octane Democrats are in a political limbo of sorts. The pair are viewed as potential 2028 presidential candidates, but the California political world is also waiting on tenterhooks to see if Harris enters California's 2026 race for governor – a move that would almost certainly preclude a 2028 presidential bid. Harris is expected to make a decision by summer, and her entrance would upend the already crowded race. With just 19 months left in his second and final term, the lame duck governor is scrambling to cement his gubernatorial legacy while also positioning himself as a pragmatic leader capable of steering his national party out of the wilderness. Harris, meanwhile, must decide if she actually wants to govern a famously unwieldy state and, if she does, whether California voters feel the same. Both Harris and Newsom were notably absent at the state party convention last weekend, as thousands of party delegates, activists, donors and labor leaders convened in Anaheim. Newsom was a famously loyal surrogate to then-President Biden. But in recent months with his 'This Is Gavin Newsom' podcast and its long list of Democratic bête noire guests, the governor has worked to publicly differentiate his own brand from that of his bedraggled party, one controversial interview at a time. Meanwhile, Newsom — who previously scoffed at the speculation and said he wasn't considering a bid for the White House, despite his manifest ambitions — is more openly acknowledging that he could run for the country's top job in the future. 'I might,' Newsom said in an interview last month. 'I don't know, but I have to have a burning why, and I have to have a compelling vision that distinguishes myself from anybody else. Without that, without both, and, I don't deserve to even be in the conversation.' Newsom demurred Thursday when asked whether he thought Harris would run for governor. "Look, I got someone right behind me running for governor, so I'm going to be very careful here," Newsom said to laughter, as California Supt. of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond — who announced his 2026 gubernatorial bid back in September 2023 — smiled behind him. Harris attended the Compton High graduation at the invitation of Compton Unified School District Student Board Member MyShay Causey, a student athlete and graduating senior. She did not speak at the ceremony, though she received an honorary diploma. Staff writer Taryn Luna contributed to this report. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
San Francisco Chronicle
18-05-2025
- Politics
- San Francisco Chronicle
Trump's biggest supporters can't be won over by Democrats, researchers say
During the life of his podcast, California Gov. Gavin Newsom has worried one topic more than others: How can the Democratic Party attract the young men tilting toward President Donald Trump? The query has taken Newsom, an odds-on 2028 presidential contender, into polarizing, even satirized territory, criticizing trans athletes with conservative influencer Charlie Kirk and platforming — rather than challenging — MAGA provocateurs Steve Bannon and Michael Savage. While a couple of polls — including this month's Berkeley IGS survey showing a majority of Californians think the governor cares more about a presidential run than his current job — suggest 'This Is Gavin Newsom' is hurting its host's popularity, it probably won't win over any Trump fans either, says political sociologist David N. Smith. In January, Smith and his University of Kansas colleague, associate sociology professor Eric A. Hanley, published a 47-page paper deconstructing the Republican president's appeal. Building on decades of scholarship about the lure of authoritarianism and their own analysis of American voting psychology in 2012 and 2016, the social scientists make an argument that some may find offensive and others unsurprising. It goes something like this: Trump's biggest supporters are motivated by bigotry and want him to hurt the people they dislike. 'A lot of people find it really hard to believe that people would really want what Trump represents,' said Smith, who began researching authoritarianism as a sociology graduate student more than 40 years ago. 'My experience is the hard core of people who support Trump election after election is they really mean it. They support him because of what he says and does, not in spite of it.' While this wouldn't be the first time the academic community identified dictatorial red flags in Trump, ascribing them to a significant portion of the U.S. electorate reflects a rarer scholarship. Yet Smith and Hanley don't shy from the implications in 'Authoritarianism From Below: Why and How Donald Trump Follows His Followers,' in which they write that '75% of Trump's voters supported him enthusiastically, mainly because they shared his prejudices, not because they were hurting economically.' Smith and Hanley built their assessment around surveys into voter behavior by the American National Election Studies, a multi-university project that has employed lengthy questionnaires and follow-up interviews to understand the motivations and demographics of U.S. voters since 1948. Smith and Hanley convinced ANES to include several items from the Right Wing Authoritarian scale in surveys about the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections. Developed by the late psychologist and author Bob Altemeyer, the scale assesses an individual's inclination toward totalitarianism and replaced an earlier psychological assessment created in California in 1950. While Altemeyer and other researchers used the scale in 'convenience sample' surveys of mostly their students over the decades, this was one of the few times the scale's cornerstone metrics were tested on nationally representative samples of the U.S. electorate. Respondents were asked to rate their level of agreement or disagreement to two statements: 'Our country would be great if we honor the ways of our forefathers, do what the authorities tell us to do, and get rid of the 'rotten apples' who are ruining everything' and, 'What our country really needs is a strong, determined leader who will crush evil and take us back to our true path.' Using a statistical method called multiple logistic regression, Smith and Hanley weighed the responses against 17 independent variables to see which ones factored most heavily in the decisions of 1,883 white voters, 979 of whom voted for Trump, 716 who did so enthusiastically. The sociologists discovered that strong support for a domineering leader coincided with a big preference for Trump and big biases against women, immigrants and Black Americans. They also determined that belief mattered much more than demographics. 'If you looked at just demographic variables, then it is true that a higher percentage of people without college degrees were more likely to support Trump,' Smith explained. 'But when you also factored in attitude variables, they completely eliminated the statistical significance of the population variables.' Smith said these indicators were also present in voters who backed Republican Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney over President Barack Obama in 2012, though to a lesser extent. 'The wish for a domineering leader was a very powerful predictor of support for Donald Trump,' he said. The conclusion bucks the exit poll-popularized narrative that Vice President Kamala Harris lost to Trump because she spoke less credibly to voters' economic anxiety and — if it pierces the academic conference bubble — could influence a debate by Democrats about whether to try siphoning Trump's support or recapture their own. A national survey released last month by the Public Religion Research Institute, a Washington D.C. nonprofit, touched similar ground. According to PRRI's Feb. 28-March 20 survey of more than 5,000 U.S. adults, majorities of Americans disapproved of Trump's job performance (54%) and viewed him as a dangerous dictator (52%), yet only a sliver of Trump voters (7%) regretted casting a ballot for him. Even fewer Harris voters (2%) regretted their vote. Remorse was expressed more by those who did not vote in the 2024 presidential election (31%) and voters who supported a third-party candidate (14%). Smith said it's these voters the Democrats should concentrate on, and that his research showed that even 'milder' Trump voters hew 'far closer to MAGA Republicans than they are to Democrats.' 'In my opinion, millions of potential voters stayed away from the polls because they didn't believe that Democratic centrism represents a genuine and progressive alternative,' he said in a follow-up email. 'If that's true, then trying again — with an even more centrist approach — is a recipe for yet another failure.' Last month, the moderate-controlled San Francisco Democratic County Central Party passed a slate of resolutions intended to reverse flagging interest in the party by advertising 'pragmatism' over progressivism. The package included a proposed age limit for public officials, sober homeless programs and a reemphasis on public safety. PRRI President Robert P. Jones, an authority on white Christian nationalism, agreed that regretful nonvoters outnumbered regretful Trump voters in his institute's poll. But within the latter group, Jones said there was a significant number of Hispanic voters, particularly Protestant ones, who have soured on Trump and could switch sides, 'especially if the economy continues to sour and if mass deportations ramp up, especially those violating due process.' Bryan Vega lives in a part of southern California where the political theories overlap. The 26-year-old clean energy consultant was elected chair of the Imperial County Democratic Party in January, after the southeast border county with a large Hispanic population swung right in the presidential election for the first time in 30 years, by about 460 votes. Trump's success trickled down to dozens of local races that Democrats lost, including Vega's unsuccessful run for his hometown Holtville City Council. 'We had six months to sell a candidate. And we already had a fractured party ecosystem,' Vega said, referring to Harris' elevation in July 2024. 'So we basically left a big vacuum for the Republican Party to make gains with young Latino men. … It's not like Republicans did this phenomenal outreach; it's just that we were dormant.' The son of farmworkers from Holtville, the self-proclaimed carrot capital of the world, Vega said Imperial County Democrats often feel like an afterthought of party leaders in Sacramento and of legislative representatives more focused on their San Diego and Coachella Valley constituents. Vega said the local party has been rebuilding through candidate recruitment efforts, monthly town halls and by building power-consolidating alliances with neighboring Democratic committees. 'We used to be reliant on top-down actions and directives. We're no longer waiting for that,' he said. 'We're doing it from the bottom up. Quite literally, because we're all at the bottom of the state.' In California, sinking voter turnout coincided with Trump flipping 10 counties in November. The state could also provide Democrats a path to reclaim Congress in 2026. With Republicans holding a three-seat majority in the House of Representatives, EMILY's List, a political incubator for pro-choice women, has targeted four of the state's House Republicans as ripe for flipping. Newsom debated the value of engaging with right-wing influencers with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz in the March 17 episode of his podcast. Newsom said he thought it was important to try to understand their appeal, while Walz was against lending them credibility. The California Democratic Party recently announced Walz would be a featured speaker at its annual convention in Anaheim at the end of May. Smith, who recalled once coming across a poll showing strong support for President Ronald Reagan despite most voters believing he didn't care about them, believes the U.S. audience for domineering leaders is actually getting smaller if louder. He bases that long view on ANES surveys from the 1950s, which included questions from an early authoritarian scale, his work with Hanley and a nationally representative survey Altemeyer did with Monmouth University in 2019 for his book ' Authoritarian Nightmare: Trump and His Followers.' He said 37% to 41% of U.S. voters were inclined toward authoritarianism a decade ago, but ANES didn't include the authoritarian measurements in successive surveys. Smith and Hanley have proposed reincorporating them in ANES' 2026 survey, and have pitched analogue surveys in other countries. 'So far no biters,' Smith said.
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Tucker Carlson and Megyn Kelly Agree: It's a Mistake for Republicans to Go on Gavin Newsom's Podcast
Tucker Carlson guested on 'The Megyn Kelly Show' on Tuesday, and both Republican commentators agreed: It's a mistake for their right-wing colleagues to appear on California Gov. Gavin Newsom's new podcast under the guise of reaching across the aisle. 'I've said I'm against conservatives going on his podcast because I think it's helping him train for 2028, and I don't think we should help him,' Kelly said of the 'This Is Gavin Newsom' podcast, which launched earlier this year. Carlson agreed, sharing that he knows Newsom personally and texts with him 'occasionally,' adding of his California credentials that he's from San Francisco and knows Newsom's ex-wife Kimberly Guilfoyle. The former Fox News host then shared that he originally accepted an invitation to interview on the podcast before having second thoughts. 'I have been bothering him for years, 'You should come on my show.' And he was kind of open to it. And then he whips around and he's like, 'No, you should come on mine,'' Carlson recalled. 'I was like, 'I would love to,' because I would love to debate him about what he's done to my state. And then I watched a parade of people go on, some of whom are good friends mine, and I realized – and I'm not attacking them at all – I almost did, but then I realized, oh, wait a second, the point of this is not to have a real conversation or to answer questions. The point of this is to rehabilitate.' Carlson then took a dagger to Newsom's character, saying he is 'legit smart' but that there is nothing 'at all at the core other than misery — another deeply, deeply unhappy person who we should be rooting for him to get his life together, but someone who kind of externalizes everything.' 'There's nothing at the center, and so everything is about the public display,' he said. 'A truly wounded, screwed up person on a very deep level — not joking — but also a talented person who will say anything, which in politics is an advantage.' Watch the full 'Megyn Kelly Show' segment below: Representatives from Gov. Newsom's office did not immediately respond to TheWrap's request for comment. It's not the first time 'This Is Gavin Newsom' has come under fire on 'The Megyn Kelly Show,' with guest Charlie Kirk — conservative media personality and Turning Point USA co-founder — saying that the media effort will derail Newsom's political career. Shortly after, Newsom defended the podcast project, saying that the point is not to 'go viral' or 'own the conservatives' by winning any debates. Instead, the Democratic politician said his new podcast is about 'exploring' what Republicans think — and why their message resonated with more voters during the 2024 election. Watch the full segment from Carlson's appearance on Kelly's podcast in the video above. The post Tucker Carlson and Megyn Kelly Agree: It's a Mistake for Republicans to Go on Gavin Newsom's Podcast | Video appeared first on TheWrap.
Los Angeles Times
01-04-2025
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
Centrist or podcast bro? Newsom's latest rebranding effort is available to download
Good morning. Here's what you need to know to start your day. Since everyone and their mother has a podcast these days, it's not too surprising that California Gov. Gavin Newsom dove into the space with the recent launch of 'This Is Gavin Newsom.' 'It's time to have honest discussions with people who agree AND disagree with us,' the show description states. 'It's time to answer the hard questions and be open to criticism, and debate without demeaning or dehumanizing one other.' Just a few episodes in, Newsom's venture has quickly garnered both criticism and kudos. Some on the left feel betrayed by the prominent liberal leader's willingness to sit down with major MAGA personalities and break from Democratic talking points on some polarizing issues. Other political thinkers view his approach as a much-needed attempt to soften the nation's stark polarization — and\or the latest vehicle for Newsom's own political ambitions. 'A common takeaway from the podcast is that Newsom is attempting to shape-shift into a moderate as he gears up to run for president in the aftermath of the Democratic Party's disastrous 2024 election,' Times reporter Taryn Luna explained this week. What does Newsom talk about on his podcast? Newsom takes his party to task as he shares space with some of MAGA's biggest names. In the inaugural episode, the governor hosted MAGA activist Charlie Kirk and quickly found himself in a political firestorm after saying transgender women's participation in sports is 'deeply unfair.' In subsequent episodes Newsom sat down with conservative commentator Michael Savage, and later with former Trump advisor Steve Bannon. Newsom defends his show as critiques fly Critics accused him of platforming right-wing voices in a misguided attempt at centrism. 'He has always been more or less a tech bro from Northern California with the same kind of politics as we thought,' Lorena Gonzalez, president of the California Federation of Labor Unions, told Taryn. 'He's done playing liberal and now he's just going to be himself.' While his conservative guests made reliable jabs at Democrats and their policies, Newsom has also been critical of his party — both on his show and in other media. In an interview with Taryn, Newsom said Democrats had 'lost our way' and are suffering the consequences of their 'toxic' brand. 'Our party's getting our ass kicked … people don't think we make any damn sense,' he said. 'They don't think we have their values. They think we're elite. We talk down to people. We talk past people. They think we just think we're smarter than other people, that we're so judgmental and full of ourselves.' It's not as if Newsom is the only liberal popping the hood to diagnose Democrats' problems and try to get them back on the road to victory for 2026's midterm and 2028's general elections. New York Times opinion columnist Ezra Klein has been on a media tour dissecting liberalism's governing failures, with a special focus on the Golden State. He was the guest on Newsom's show last week, where the two talked bureaucracy, CEQA and California's grand plan for high-speed rail that's running at least a decade behind schedule. 'There is something wrong in a [political] culture that so often fails to deliver what it promises,' Klein said during their conversation. A 'Joe Rogan of the left'? Times columnist Anita Chabria wrote recently that the early episodes of Newsom's podcast were 'cringe' and 'appalling,' but added that the governor's effort was 'undeniably smart.' 'He understands there is a new political order, and it's not about rising through the ranks of the party or appeasing a base,' she argued. 'It's about audience, politics aside, and Newsom is savvy enough to chase it.' Fellow columnist Mark Z. Barabak was less impressed. 'If Newsom really hopes to be president someday, the best thing he could do is a bang-up job in his final 22 months as governor. Not waste time on glib and self-flattering diversions,' he wrote last month. 'People have told Newsom as much. But the only voice he seems to care about [is] his own.' Kambiz Akhavan, managing director for the USC Dornsife Center for the Political Future, views Newsom's foray into podcasting as an effort to '[position] himself as the Joe Rogan of the left.' He doesn't view that as a bad thing. 'Podcasts are a powerful way to get inside people's heads with long-form substantive content that is largely absent from our TikTok, 30-second, dopamine-hit, doom-scrolling media diets,' Akhavan wrote in an emailed comment. 'Reaching across the aisle to explore issues and talk respectfully across differences is a welcome treat in our polarized society.' As children are pulled into immigration court, many must fend for themselves The world's oldest trees are threatened by the Silver fire in Inyo County The box office is bleak. Here's how local theaters are surviving the downturn What else is going on Get unlimited access to the Los Angeles Times. Subscribe here. 'Star Wars' actor Alden Ehrenreich's mission to make L.A. a 'theater city' involves a 119-year-old trolley station. After more than a decade in the industry, the actor longed to find a space to play. He yearned for the uninhibited artistic exploration of his late teens and early 20s when he was a part of theater groups with friends. So he bought a historic substation in Cypress Park, determined to make it an artistic hub where he and others could get back to youthful creativity that's often 'quelled' by industry expectations. Huron Station Playhouse, which celebrated its soft opening last fall, has become his 'pride and joy.' Other must reads How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@ Going out Staying in We asked you to share your favorite April Fools' jokes and y'all delivered! Here are a few: Mark Rhomberg wrote: 'In the early 1980s a Chicago radio station told listeners early on April 1 that President Reagan had declared an emergency Daylight Savings Time change [the DST change was later then], and that the time was one hour later than their clocks at home. When callers asked if it was a joke, the station called the time number [one used to be able to call a number for the correct time] to prove it, but they called the time number in New York City, which was on Eastern Standard Time, so the recorded voice stated the time one hour later than Chicago's Central Standard hordes rushed to work and school under-dressed and overly-stressed. Radio station staff heads rolled, but not enough to appease the many unamused Chicagoans.' Martha Singer wrote: 'The April 1 when Taco Bell put a full-page ad in the paper claiming it was buying the Liberty Bell. Everyone in my department went to Taco Bell for lunch that day (which we never did ordinarily) because we loved the ad.' Kelsey Wittles wrote: 'One year, I changed my boyfriend's birthday to April 1 on Facebook early in the morning of April Fool's Day. It seems benign but this was back in the day when everyone used Facebook and it notified you of friend's birthdays. So for the rest of the day I didn't need to do anything but sit back and watch as his friends sent him messages, distant relatives gave him calls, and someone in his office even brought in a cake! At first he politely explained to everyone that he was the subject of the joke but by the end of the day he just accepted it and beared it while everyone sang him Happy Birthday.' Sara Siegal wrote: 'Mine was an NPR interview Yo Yo Ma gave, stating that he was abandoning the cello for the accordion. I was DESPONDENT. What an enormous loss to the classical music world! It was later that evening when my partner (now husband) came home and pointedly asked me what the date was. Oh, the relief!' Show us your favorite place in California! Send us photos you have taken of spots in California that are special — natural or human-made — and tell us why they're important to you. Today's great photo is from Times photographer Genaro Molina. Lakers coach JJ Redick stands at the site of his rental home that burned down during the Palisades fire. Have a great day, from the Essential California team Ryan Fonseca, reporterDefne Karabatur, fellowAndrew Campa, Sunday reporterKevinisha Walker, multiplatform editorHunter Clauss, multiplatform editorChristian Orozco, assistant editorStephanie Chavez, deputy metro editorKarim Doumar, head of newsletters Check our top stories, topics and the latest articles on
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Gavin Newsom Pushes Back on Podcast Criticism, Explains Why He's Not Trying to ‘Own the Conservatives'
California Gov. Gavin Newsom said the point of his new podcast is not to 'go viral' or 'own the conservatives' by winning any debates. Instead, the Democratic politician said his new podcast is about 'exploring' what Republicans think — and why their message resonated with more voters during the 2024 election. 'It's just exploring the other side. Why are they kicking our ass?' Newsom said in an interview with Semafor out Sunday. 'Why are these guys so successful? They are. I mean, I'm sorry, Democrats, they are.' Newsom launched his podcast, aptly dubbed 'This Is Gavin Newsom,' earlier this month. So far, he has had several conservative guests on, including Steve Bannon and commentator Charlie Kirk. The host told the outlet his goal is merely to talk to the other side of the political aisle with his new show. 'I'm not trying to own the conservatives like these guys try to own the libs. I'm not trying to go in and kick their ass and get a viral moment,' Newsom said. 'I'm not trying to be that guy.' Still, the governor did go somewhat viral when he had Kirk on his show; Newsom said he 'totally' agreed with Kirk that transwomen should not play in women's sports — breaking with Democrats on the hot-button issue. 'I think it's an issue of fairness. I completely agree with you on that. It is an issue of fairness — it's deeply unfair,' Newsom told Kirk. 'I am not wrestling with the fairness issue.' He further said, at the same time, it is possible to not 'talk down to vulnerable communities' and also treat people with 'decency.' Newsom's willingness to talk to conservatives has led to some criticism from his Democratic base, he noted, for failing 'some ideological purity test.' Still, he told Semafor that having these conversations is important because progressives can typically come across 'so f–king judgmental.' His podcast has had some success to this point. It is ranked 50th overall on Spotify's podcast chart in the U.S. as of Monday, although its 57,500 YouTube subscribers does not scream 'smash success.' The post Gavin Newsom Pushes Back on Podcast Criticism, Explains Why He's Not Trying to 'Own the Conservatives' appeared first on TheWrap.
