Gavin Newsom says the Democratic party “must fight fire with fire”

0:00Gavin Newsom is finishing up his final year as governor of California. But lately, he's been touring the country to energize voters ahead of the midterm elections.

0:13This week, we caught up with him in rural South Carolina. He was stumping for Democrats in a county that voted for President Trump in the last two elections.

0:24Gavin Newsom:Donald Trump knows he's going to get crushed in the midterm election. He knows he's going to get crushed. Newsom says this is the kind of grassroots work that will help Democrats reclaim power. County races matter. State races matter. You matter. City council members matter. Mayors matter. Now, Gavin Newsom has not officially announced that he's running for president in 2028. But his busy travel schedule certainly resembles that of a presidential hopeful. And he is, at the moment, widely considered a leading potential candidate. He's also out with a new memoir called Young Man in a Hurry. It tells a story of his childhood, his struggles with dyslexia, and his political rise.

1:19Consider this. Gavin Newsom is one of the loudest voices in the Democratic Party right now. He's pushing back on President Trump with his policies and his own viral all-capped social media posts. But what is the California governor's next move?

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2:34It's Consider This from NPR. In his final year as governor of California, Gavin Newsom has been spending a lot of time outside of California. In just the last month, he was in Germany, meeting with global leaders at the Munich Security Conference. After that, he was in the U.K., signing a new clean energy pact. And then, over the last few days, he's been touring the American South, talking about his new memoir, Young Man in a Hurry, all while folding in a string of events to rally voters for local Democratic candidates in places like Manning, South Carolina.

3:11Gavin Newsom:I think it's really important for the Democratic Party not to give up on red states and rural parts of the country. And I've been doing this for years now. I had a PAC that's exclusively focused. Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, where we spend a day or two in the way someplace else and make sure we're supporting local democratic causes. You're on book tour right now. Often when people are planning to run for president, they write an autobiography. Your new memoir is out this week. Yeah. Why does now feel like the right time to be telling everybody your life story? Well, I appreciate the question.

3:50Gavin Newsom:You know, they may write an autobiography, but not like this. What do you mean? What's different about yours? This is a little different. I mean, this is pretty self-critical. This is very deeply reflective. And it's not, I'm not out of office when I'm writing this. This is not looking back in the rocking chair, but it was an opportunity to talk about my own journey in terms of discovering who I am. It's called Young Man in a Hurry, a memoir of discovery. One of the things that I learned about you for the first time when I was reading this book was how you kind of felt like a dork growing up. I mean, you were bullied in high school.

4:28You wondered how to remake your image, which led to the whole origin story of your now famous hairstyle. Oh, gosh, yeah.

4:35Gavin Newsom:You read that part. I read that. You decided. You Well, this is what I want to ask you, because you decided you wanted to look like Pierce Brosnan from the TV show Remington Steel. Who went? Explain why that was the solution to your teenage problems at the time. Yeah, I think you used the word dork. It was also used by my sister who said I looked like one when I started showing up. I mean, she said you weren't helping her luck in high school. I was actually, she said, literally, she gave me money to buy jeans because she was so embarrassed. I was walking around in suits in high school. Look, you know, I think it was, you know, somebody once said, Oscar Wilde, I think he said in Boys Life, he said, you know, the first phase of life, we all, you know, have a pose.

5:23Gavin Newsom:And I guess I was posing, you know, and I didn't know who I was. I was going through a process of discovery. I mean, quite literally, there's a funny chapter in there about discovering dippity-doo. Yeah, the gel. Or whatever that substance was. Whatever that just disgusting, translucent subject was. But it stuck, so to speak. Yeah, and it was sort of a metamorphosis. It was, you know, I remember from sophomore to junior year, and then I started, you know, put on a mask and quite literally put on a suit. Yeah. Put on, you know, and, you know, I was sort of trying to emulate other people, just testing, you know, as kids do, trying to discover who I am.

5:57Gavin Newsom:But, you know, that process continues to this day. I mean, you did live sort of a split screen reality between growing up with your single mom and then the occasional proximity to the gay family. And the privileges that came with that. Right. That you were a beneficiary of that proximity. Yeah. And so I felt that in this book you do take great pains to paint yourself in some aspects as an outsider. But you do also acknowledge that you've been on the inside as well. Right. Like you have had these family connections to the Geddes, family connections to the Pelosi's. And frankly, by this time, Governor, you've been famous for half of your life.

6:34So I guess my question, my basic question for you is why should ordinary Americans feel that they can relate to you?

6:43Gavin Newsom:I'm not trying to force feed anything. I'm just sharing my story, my life, story of my mom's life, story of her struggles, story of my struggles as it relates to reading and learning disabilities. And, you know, I painted a picture that I paint in detail in the book of someone that always struggled academically, that was bouncing around different schools, that does not read a speech today because I couldn't read a speech today. I'm not suggesting anything, but I'm just offering a glimpse of some of the things that people may not see, of sweaty hands, of anxiety, insecurity, of trying to be someone I'm not, of making mistakes, learning from those mistakes.

7:20Gavin Newsom:and painted a picture of also a family history that I knew nothing about until I wrote the book. You've not only written this book, you have launched a podcast about a year ago. Yes. A podcast called This is Gavin Newsom. And you've made a real effort to bring in conservative guests on this podcast, like the late Charlie Kerr, like Steve Bannon, Ben Shapiro. Why has that been important to you to bring conservative voices on this podcast? Because This is Gavin Newsom. It's who I am. What does that mean? Open hand, not a closed fist. I mean, I said it when we just had a rally here. I said divorce is not an option.

7:55Gavin Newsom:It's just not. You have to get along, you mean, as a country. As human beings. It's just exhausting. But what do you make of the criticism that bringing guests like that onto your podcast is just pandering to the right? Well, I think it's fair. And that's why you don't have to listen. I started the podcast with quite literally not one download and not one listener. And I brought on Charlie Kirk because I wanted to understand what motivated him. I wanted to understand why he had built such a successful organization that powered young men, particularly young men who the Democratic Party have lost, to Donald Trump's side.

8:29Gavin Newsom:And I thought it was important to understand that. And some people thought it was offensive. To have someone like him on. Yeah, but just because we don't want to focus on them doesn't mean they go away. And so it's just, it's my, it's who I am. You know, I'm married into a big Republican family. And I love my Republican father-in-law. And that's why I'm here in a rural part of a red state. Okay, I want to understand who you are politically. Because I'm trying to understand your overall strategy here. On one hand, you are bringing people like the late Charlie Kirk, like Steve Bannon onto your podcast.

9:06On the other hand, you're trolling President Trump on X. Yeah. You mock his writing style. You mock his body. You are selling MAGA-branded knee pads. We shouldn't be body shaming. Let me double check that. These MAGA-branded knee pads, they're for all your groveling to Trump needs?

9:24Gavin Newsom:Yeah, no, that's for the universities, the law firms. That's for major corporate leaders, as well as major media companies. Yes, those knee pads are for them. Okay. How do you square those playground insults with the listening sessions that you're having with these conservatives on the podcast? Because I think you can be both and. But what if you're confusing people as to what you sincerely believe? Like, why not present just one Gavin Newsom, one consistent tone across all platforms? I am. What's the consistent tone? I'm who I am. I'm consistently me. I'm interested in other people. I'm interested in what makes them work.

10:02Gavin Newsom:I don't want to, I don't talk down or pass people. I believe all of us want to be protected, connected, and respective. All of us need to be loved and need to love. to me that's universal. But you don't think you're talking down to President Trump on your ex-academy? I'm putting a mirror up to President Trump and I'm fighting fire with fire and I'm punching a bully back in the mouth. And at the same time, I'm the same guy who walked out on the tarmac to welcome him into LA so that he could support the people that were torn asunder because of those wildfires. I was the one who was in the Oval Office, the first Democrat for 90 minutes trying to do the same.

10:37Gavin Newsom:That's who I am. Well, I'm just going to ask you, Are you going to run for president or not in 2028? I honestly don't know. But, you know, I made probably a mistake where I was asked a different question. Someone asked me, said, have you ever thought about it? And I got caught by saying, yes, I've thought about it, but briefly, but briefly. So I don't know. What makes you back away from the thought? Just it's fate. It's, you know, there's humility. I mean, this whole book is about humility. It's about grace. It's about, hey, I'm still that kid. in the back of the room. Because you're widely considered one of the leading potential candidates for president in the next two years.

11:14So whatever you're doing right now, something seems to be working, at least right now. What do you think that might be?

11:20Gavin Newsom:Just conviction. Just letting it go. It's putting it all out there. Calling balls and strikes. And I'm going to run the 110-yard dash. I got to sell by date as governor. And we'll see what happens. But I'm not going to be a bystander at this moment. and I'm just doing everything I can to meet it head on. And some people embrace it and others will reject it. And that's okay. California Governor Gavin Newsom, thank you very much for your time. This was a pleasure. Thanks for coming out. This episode was produced by Janaki Mehta and Connor Donovan. It was edited by Christopher Integliata. Our executive producer is Sammy Yenigan.

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