The new podcast of the California governor, hosting prominent supporters of the California governor's governor, brings questions about his political strategy as he closes his tenure as governor and keeps the door open for the 2028 presidential election.
The first few episodes of “This Is Gavin Newsom” have discovered governors who are looking for common ground with conservative figures like Charlie Kirk and Steve Bannon. Shaw also sees Newsom's destruction with Democrats on the issue of transgender athletes in women's sports and calls it “deeply unfair.”
It all looks like a pivot towards the center by those expecting a White House race.
“I think he's playing a long game here. He's realised he has a lot of runways between the present and the 2028 election,” said Republican strategist Matt Klink in California.
Newsom “positions yourself more as a medium Democrat willing to at least listen to the ideological leaders shaping the Republican narrative,” Klink said. That approach isn't guaranteed to spell success with voters, but “it's the start” tackling towards the center.
Newsom pitched How to “change conversations” including his podcast “People I disagree with, people I respect, and you, listeners” as a way to “change conversations.”
In his debut episode, he cast himself as the main face of new Trump's resistance a few months ago in a conversation with Kirk, a right-wing media personality and co-founder of Turning Point USA. Conservative talk show host Michael Savage followed by Bannon, the lead White House strategist during Trump's first term.
“He wants to be a Democrat on the road. He tries to position himself as a Bill Clinton-esque Democrat who can get close enough to the center. He's trying to navigate the unstable ocean,” Clink said.
The strategy is also somewhat reminiscent of former South Bend, Indiana, hired by former Transport Secretary Pete Battigeg, who built a national profile during his presidential bid in 2019.
The podcasting move reflects the strategy Trump adopted in 2024, attempting to reach young male voters through podcasts, a medium he has exploded in recent years.
“Maybe it's the young male voters and his internal research that he has an opportunity to sue,” California Sen. Mike Gutt, D., said he regularly appears in conservative network News Max as a democratic voice.
“Maybe it's a constantly shattering pool of undecided voters, and there may be a demographic of people who say, 'I know I listen to Charlie Kirk from time to time, he points out some good points, and see Gavin Newsom talking to him, and Gavin looks like a decent blowjob',” he said.
One California Democratic strategist said it was a “notable and correct” idea to have party numbers “listen to people who don't absolutely match us.”
But the governor's podcast guest list puts the marginalization of some Democrats at risk.
“I think the calculation is that by pursuing this podcast and this set of reasoning, he is going to pick up more than he lost,” the strategist said.
Kentucky Governor Andy Besher, one of Newsom's fellow Democratic governors; It is reportedly “It's great to bring about a different voice,” but he disagreed with Bannon giving “oxygen anywhere, on any platform.”
Former MP Adam Kintzinger (R-Ill.) said he “shocks the stupidity” of Newsom, the Bannon host. “Many of us who are appropriate have sacrificed their careers to fight Bannon, and Newsom is trying to run the careers and president by building him.”
In his speech with Kirk, Newsom called it a “fair issue” by trans athletes on the sidelines of Republican thinking about girls and women's sports.
That comment sparked backlash from LGBTQ supporters. ACLU California action received “sadness and anger” in Newsom's comments, executive director David Trujillo said in a statement.
But Gut opposes the concept, pointing out that everyone is a “platform” and that Kirk and Bannon already have a large audience.
“Please take a break,” Gut said. “He was talking to people and discussing where necessary, and found agreements that he found agreements with people who absolutely represent the views of millions of Americans.”
Newsom, who has been restricted as governor, has long been suspected of his national ambitions. And while the next presidential election is almost three years later, he has already appeared in early voting. Potential front runners For Democrats.
Experts on both sides of the aisle said the podcast move is a clear attempt to lay the foundations for the White House run.
“I think every move Governor Newsom makes is calculated and adjusted as to how he will affect his future execution,” the Democratic strategist said.
Klink suggested that Newsom is trying to learn the inside and outside of the Republican and Maga arguments, to better debate that democratic solutions are better if they are running for a higher office.
But as speculation for 2028 swirls, the governor has faced criticism from Republicans and even Democrats for appearing too opportunistic about all sorts of self-promotion. In addition, the move to the Political Center could be perceived as a flip-flop after serving as governor of perhaps the country's most liberal state.
“A lot of people say they got this position in 2023, signed the law in 2024, and said something a little different in 2025,” Gutt said. “People are not going to give huge amounts of reliability for these reasons.”
California Republican strategist Rob Stutzman pointed to Newsom's longtime position as Trump Resistance Chief and a newer, friendly approach to Trump amid the wildfire fallout.
“Newsom has a history of being a politician who adapts to changing circumstances,” says Stutzman. “I think he understands what has progressed for a politician like him. If he runs for president, perhaps if he starts his exploration, will anyone chase him in a lane that is lightly misleading for the past decade, especially to culture?”
