Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) announced his newest venture Wednesday — a podcast dedicated to “honest discussions with people that agree and disagree with us.”
The announcement came as Newsom is a year away from reaching his two-term limit after he survived a recall election in 2021. Following the fires in Southern California, Newsom was again served recall papers.
“I’m Gavin Newsom. And it’s time to have a conversation. It’s time to have honest discussions with people that agree AND disagree with us,” the podcast intro says. “It’s time to answer the hard questions and be open to criticism and debate without demeaning or dehumanizing one other.”
I’m Gavin Newsom is the governor’s latest podcast after he launched Politickin’ with former NFL player Marshawn Lynch in July 2024. The last Politickin’ episode came out over a week ago and featured a conversation with comedian Chelsea Handler. It was recorded before the fires sparked in Southern California.
“Real conversations. What’s going on with the cost of eggs? What are the impacts — real impacts — to you around tariffs? What power does an executive order really have? What’s really going on inside of DOGE?” Newsom said in a promotional video Wednesday. “In the first few weeks, we’re going to be sitting down with some of the biggest leaders and architects of the MAGA movement.”
The first episode has yet to be released, as the podcast only features a trailer as of Wednesday morning.
“I’d rather pour acid in my ears than listen to a Gavin Newsom podcast,” former California congressional candidate John Dennis wrote on X.
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“I’m sure his 25 loyal listeners will tune in to each episode. Also, which governors do you know have their own podcasts? They don’t because they are busy doing their jobs…unlike Gavin Newsom,” the conservative group Log Cabin LA wrote on X.
Regarding Newsom’s successor, former Vice President Kamala Harris appears to be in the lead. A poll from Emerson College Polling/Inside California Politics/the Hill reported that 57% of primary voters in Harris’s party would vote for her in a hypothetical election. Harris is trailed by former Democratic California Rep. Katie Porter at 9%, who is similarly fresh from a failed campaign in which she lost to Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA). Nearly a fifth, 17%, remain undecided.