Gavin Newsom invited the one guest on his podcast that could actually make him look cool: the Midwest Marxist Mr. Magoo.
The California governor and Tim Walz, governor of the far less cool state of Minnesota, sat down Tuesday for an episode of “This Is Gavin Newsom,” chopping it up about MAGA, masculinity, and whether MAGA supporters are motivated purely by racism and misogyny. As Newsom made reasonable points about the Democratic Party’s failure to grasp why they are losing young men of all ethnicities and why recent guests on his podcast, such as Steve Bannon, have potent messages about the working class and the hollowing out of America, Walz, unsurprisingly, embarrassed himself by growing indignant throughout the show and at one point claiming he could take Republicans in a fight. (Subscribe to MR. RIGHT, a weekly newsletter about modern masculinity)
“I think I could kick most of their ass,” Walz said of MAGA supporters.
“It’s a natural reaction. I think it’s one of the reasons we’re losing so many men. And again, it’s multi-ethnic. It’s not just white men. We’re losing them. We’re losing them to these guys online,” Newsom responded, politely suggesting that Walz’s hollow “I could take them in a fight” posturing is a part of the problem with their party — which it is.
Walz also griped about being criticized over his masculinity, or lack thereof, saying that he was attacked by Fox News because he sucked on a straw to drink a milkshake.
“It just baffled me how much time they spent trying to attack me — that I wasn’t like masculine enough in their vision. Like, I would have never believed this,” the Minnesota governor said. “I saw Fox News did, like, a couple days because I used a straw, and I’m like, ‘Hell, man, how else do you drink a milkshake type of thing?’ But they focused on it obsessively, which I think, again, is their obsession, their weirdness.”
The difference between the two governors could not be more stark. For all his foibles, of which there are many, Newsom represents what the Democratic Party should aspire to if they want any chance of reclaiming power in 2026 and 2028. He has charisma. He has a willingness to understand MAGA. He can read the room. Walz, on the other hand, is exactly the kind of politician the party should ditch for good. Like Kamala Harris, he has anti-charisma. A pedantic, smarmy tone. Whereas Newsom speaks with Bannon about economic policy, Walz sounds off like a pedestrian Millennial from a blue urban area, blaming MAGA on racism and misogyny. (RELATED: Tim Walz Flirts With Disaster)
So, of course, Newsom invited him on the show. It makes him look good.
Sign up for John Loftus’s weekly newsletter here! Follow John Loftus on X: @JohnCFLoftus1
