Gavin Newsom’s Podcast Is a Political Disaster

We often hear it said that Democratic leaders must embrace Republican positions and move towards the mythical “middle” in politics. Now, thanks to California Gov. Gavin Newsom, we have more definitive proof that it doesn't work.

This month, Newsom tried to rebrand himself as a MAGA-friendly Democrat by launching a podcast, This Is Gavin Newsom, in which he lavishes praise on extremist Republican figures like Charlie Kirk and Steve Bannon. While some conservatives have praised Newsom’s podcast pivot as clever, the reality is that he may have dealt a fatal blow to his political ambitions.

There’s data to prove it. California political analyst Paul Mitchell conducted a poll and sentiment analysis to gauge Californians’ responses to Newsom’s podcast pivot. The results are brutal.

Main Takeaway: Newsom's podcast pivot was a political faceplant. His net favorability dropped by 10 points after the release of the podcast. From Mitchell’s op-ed in The Capitol Weekly:

The negative impact on Newsom’s popularity with voters is clearly visible in this survey. Newsom’s favorability in our last survey, done the first week of February of this year, had his total favorability at 52%, with 48% unfavorable, for a net favorability (favorable minus unfavorable) of +4. Notably, his “very favorable” was at 25%.

In this survey, his favorability has dropped to 47%, with his “very favorable” dropping to 18% and his net favorable going to -6, for a 10-point drop in net favorability.

Among self-identified liberals, 37% said that these snippets of the Newsom podcast harmed their perception of the Governor, and among these voters the Governor’s “very favorable” number has dropped from 46% to 30%.

Even worse for Newsom: He didn’t fool any Republicans:

Their vitriol toward Newsom was not something he could penetrate, being described as “fake”, “pandering” and “a liar,” with a general distrust of his sincerity, and seeing it as a “conniving political play.”

CA 120: Gavin’s podcast - Presidential run or empire building? - Capitol Weekly

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s new podcast has sent shockwaves through California’s political world. But is there more to Newsom’s efforts than meets the eye?

Capitol WeeklyPAUL MITCHELL

Newsom’s podcast pivot disaster highlights the pitfalls of Democrats adopting Republican positions to appeal to a broader electorate. Such strategies often backfire, leading to unintended consequences:

• Alienation of Core Supporters: Democratic candidates who adopt conservative rhetoric risk losing support from their base and making voters feel betrayed.
• No Significant Gains Among Conservatives: Republican voters are unlikely to shift their allegiance based on Democrats adopting conservative stances, as party loyalty and ideological consistency remain strong.​
• A Strong Stench of Inauthenticity: Politicians who cynically shift political positions come off as fake and untrustworthy. Voters want their leaders to seem authentic, not like poll-driven concoctions designed to please whatever audience they're addressing.

These insights should serve as a cautionary tale for Democrats considering a shift toward Republican positions for cynical or strategic reasons.

Newsom's Self-Inflicted Disaster

Newsom launched This Is Gavin Newsom to rebrand himself as a different kind of Democrat – one who could span political divides by finding common ground with the opposition. It didn’t work. Instead, Newsom came off as servile, weak, and inauthentic. He effusively praised Charlie Kirk more than 125 times, according to Mitchell’s analysis:

It was so much that even Kirk, on his podcast following the Newsom interview, stated “Governor Newsom was being overly-effusive in his praise of me“ and then he subsequently rolled right into his repeated attacks on the Governor for ruining the State of California.

The political fallout for Newsom was immediate:

• LGBTQ organizations condemned his remarks as a betrayal.
• Democrats and Progressive activists blasted him for legitimizing right-wing talking points.
• Republicans mocked him as weak and desperate.
• Mainstream media critics called the episode “full-on cringe.”

Instead of broadening his appeal, Newsom alienated his own side while gaining nothing from the right. It was a bipartisan belly flop. Only one in five people surveyed said they wanted to watch or listen to another episode of the podcast – a devastating review.

The Fatal Flaw in Newsom’s Strategy

Newsom’s biggest error wasn’t just giving a platform to extremists—it was assuming that engaging with them in a friendly, debate-club manner would win him any goodwill. Extremist Republicans don’t care about compromise, and they haven’t for a long time. They care about winning the culture war – and the moral war – and forcing Democrats onto the defensive.

The lesson for every Democratic leader watching Newsom’s miscalculation unfold in real time: Chasing Republican approval is a losing strategy. Instead of playing defense on conservative framing, Democrats should be setting the terms of the debate.

A new poll conducted by SSRS found that Democratic voters and independents want strong leaders, not pushovers. From CNN:

With many in the party saying publicly that their leaders should do more to stand up to President Donald Trump, Democrats and Democratic-aligned independents say, 57% to 42%, that Democrats should mainly work to stop the Republican agenda, rather than working with the GOP majority to get some Democratic ideas into legislation.

Newsom’s podcast won’t change any minds on the right, and it certainly won’t win him more support from progressives. If anything, it proves that trying to appease both sides only makes you look weak to everyone.

The next time a Democratic politician considers slithering across the aisle in search of a mythical middle ground, they should remember: This Is Gavin Newsom – and this is a political disaster.

What can you do?

Contact Gov. Gavin Newsom and let him know what you think. Click here to send a message.

And the next time you see someone arguing that Democrats must follow MAGA to win, remind them of the lesson of This is Gavin Newsom.

FrameLab Book Club

There is no Book Club meeting this week, but we will be answering questions in writing.

For those participating in the FrameLab Book club, we will be taking questions on Chapters 5, 6 and 7 of The Political Mind this week. Please submit all questions by Friday (we'll send another reminder this week).

Here's how to submit your questions:

1. Leave your question in the comments on this post. (Note: You may need to log in to FrameLab to do this. Go to the FrameLab homepage, click "log in" in the top right corner and follow the instructions.)
2. Email your question to me: gil@theframelab.org. Please put "Book Club Question" in the headline.
3. Enter your question at the bottom of this Google Doc.