Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom said he had “been shape-shifted” in recent years during a Thursday interview on “Next Up with Mark Halperin.”
Newsom has been conducting interviews while promoting his new book, “Young Man in a Hurry: A Memoir of Discovery.” He said on the show that he had completely transformed following recent political struggles during his governorship.
WATCH:
“I don’t know if you’ve seen this. I don’t know that anyone cares to see it. I’m on the other side of a lot of things right now. I’ve been shape-shifted in the last couple years,” Newsom said. “After the recall, I came out a totally different person. After the fires in Los Angeles, where I was on my heels and getting just crushed by Elon [Musk] and by [President Donald] Trump and the right-wing media and [Fox News host Sean] Hannity and all these guys, 24/7 just trying to tear us down, pushing another recall.”
“And then June of last year when Donald Trump called me for 17 minutes, didn’t read me any riot act, just wanted to read me in on his psychosis as it relates to nicknames and whether or not [former Vice President] Kamala Harris really beat him in the debate and then federalized the National Guard,” he continued. “And I’m just on the other side of things.”
Newsom has also faced criticism for allegedly code-switching when talking to black Americans.
Although the governor told slain Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk on a March 2025 episode of “This Is Gavin Newsom” that biological males competing in female sports was “deeply unfair,” he had supported several policies in California that undermined women’s spaces. California’s Department of Education also refused to comply with the Trump administration’s demand to block males from female sports and spaces.
Newsom faced a recall effort in 2021, but over two-thirds of voters opted to keep him in office. He also received backlash after the January 2025 Los Angeles wildfires, with residents accusing him and Democratic Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass of poor leadership and inadequate emergency preparedness.
The fires affected both Pacific Palisades and Altadena communities and resulted in thousands of homes burning and hundreds of residents being displaced.
Trump deployed the National Guard to Los Angeles in June amid violent riots over Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids.
Amid speculation that Newsom will run for president in 2028, he asserted on “CBS News Sunday Morning” in October that he would consider it after the 2026 midterm elections.
CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten said on Feb. 24 that Newsom’s odds of becoming the Democratic nominee in 2028 had plunged.
“It seems to me that Gavin Newsom is flailing a little bit, at least compared to where he was prior, because just take a look here. Chance Newsom is the 2028 Democrat nominee,” Enten said. “Three months ago, according to the Kalshi prediction market. Look at that. It was a 37 percent chance. Now it’s just at 28 percent, down he goes. He’s definitely flailing a little bit.”
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact [email protected].
