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He looks like the kind of president that filmmaker Aaron Sorkin would conjure up in the ’90s. In fact, there is a solid resemblance between Sorkin’s Andrew Shepherd, played by Michael Douglas in 1995’s award-winning The American President, and Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA), who really, really wants to be the 48th president of the United States.
Newsom is apparently so Hollywood hot that Vogue magazine, in a puff piece to end all puff pieces, began its cover story thusly: “He is embarrassingly handsome, his hair seasoned with silver, at ease with his own eminence as he delivers his final State of the State address.“
Yep. It’s one thing to be handsome, but Vogue takes it to another level by calling Newsom embarrassingly handsome.
It somehow gets even more cringe.
“It must drive Trump nuts. Newsom: lithe, ardent, energetic, a glimmer of optimism in his eye; Kennedy-esque. Add to that his stunning wife and four adorable kids, and the executive strut of a self-made millionaire who has spent the past seven years at the helm of a state big, complex, and rich enough to be a nation of its own.”
Of course, this is Maya Singer, the same writer who once referred to then-President Barack Obama’s “mom jeans” as “genius.” In the Newsom profile, Singer reveals she just didn’t have the time to discuss the devastating wildfires that engulfed the Palisades in Los Angeles last year and the painfully slow rebuilding process, nor could she address rampant homelessness in California, the highest in the nation.
“But where we did range, I saw a man who likes spitballing, trying ideas on for size,” Singer made sure to note.
This is Vogue, so fluff is to be expected. But the problem for Newsom is that the piece was so over-the-top that he’s still being asked about it by other “journalists,” such as Katie Couric, the former network anchor-turned-podcaster.
“Do you have a Zoolander problem?” Couric asked Newsom, referring to the 2001 film starring Ben Stiller as a hilariously clueless male supermodel. “Are you just ridiculously good-looking, as Vogue said? No, seriously. What do you do about that?”
“You don’t do anything about it,” Newsom responded. “‘Cause if you’re going to do something about it, then you’re bulls***ting people. You know what? I am who I am. And it’s fine. You don’t have to like me. Or maybe you like a slick person. I don’t know. Whatever. It’s OK.”
It’s hard to know what’s worse: Couric’s fawning question or Newsom’s awkward answer. But that’s just how this media blitz has been for the possible 2028 Democratic nominee: inauthentic.
And also racist. During a recent event with Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, who is black, Newsom tried to portray himself as a relatable guy. The result was horrific.
“I’m not trying to impress you, I’m just trying to impress upon you, ‘I’m like you. I’m not better than you.’ I’m a 960 SAT guy,” Newsom said before later adding, “You’ve never seen me read a speech because I cannot read a speech.”
The clip has been viewed more than 58 million times on one X account, End Wokeness, alone, with the responses overwhelmingly negative.
“Black Americans aren’t your low bar,” Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) responded. “We’ve built empires, created movements, outworked, out hustled and outsmarted people like you. Stop using your mediocre academics as a way to patronize communities. It’s ridiculous!”
“Brother Newsom could’ve taken a humanistic approach!” 2024 presidential candidate Cornel West wrote. “He could’ve said, ‘I’m just like you. I was born of a woman. I’ll face loss, pain, and death just like anyone else.’ But instead, when he thinks of Black people, he brings up low SAT scores. That mindset sits at the core of white supremacy — the belief that Black people are less beautiful, less moral, less intelligent! Don’t play with us like that!”
Things got worse during a recent interview when the likely candidate was asked what his core mission for the country was.
“Stand up for ideals. Strike out against injustice,” Newsom said before going completely sideways. “I’m a Sargent Shriver Democrat. I mean, in that whole ’60s, the vernacular, the ’60s, solving for ignorance and poverty, disease, and the spirit of the ’60s, the spirit of King, by the movement in Gandhi and Mandela, that whole set of moral authority space. That’s the zeitgeist, yeah, and that’s that. So that’s me. That’s my dad. So it’s my mom, that’s the book, and that’s my ‘why.’”
A confused Friedland followed up: “So if you had to define it: ‘Vote for me and you get X.’”
“I just gave you my ‘why,'” Newsom retorted. “But how do you translate that into human?”
Needless to say, Friedland remained looking confused before simply asking, “What?”
If “word salad” is the only two words that come to mind, you aren’t alone. And the answer lies at the core of Newsom’s biggest problem as he tries to sell himself to voters outside of California: Who is this guy and what does he really stand for?
If Newsom’s actual record in California is any indication of the last part of that question, it’s hard to see how he survives as a candidate to even get to 2028. It has the highest gas prices, housing costs, and rates of unemployment, homelessness, and income tax. Drug overdose deaths have more than doubled since 2018 in the state, which is ranked 37th by U.S. News & World Report despite an ideal climate and coastline.
But for now, the interviews with Newsom mostly focus on Trump while staying far away from making the governor uncomfortable in defending the indefensible. That’s just one of the benefits of being a Democrat running for president in the liberal media ecosystem that Newsom is operating in as he veers hard to the Left to get the nomination.
A fresh example of this veering occurred during his interview with Pod Save America, which is composed of ex-Obama staffers who hold a high disdain for Israel. Newsom, in an effort to conform once again, agreed with the hosts that ending U.S. military support for Israel “should be considered” before calling the Jewish state “an apartheid state,” a staunch contrast to his previous staunch support.
Current polls show Newsom’s media blitz is having a negative impact. A recent Harvard-Harris survey shows Kamala Harris with a 15-point lead over Newsom, with the governor down 6 points since his media blitz began one month prior.
The same poll also shows Harris holding a 45-point lead among black voters, which does not bode well for Newsom in South Carolina, which has a higher concentration of black voters than almost every other state in the country. In 2024, the party moved South Carolina to the front of the line in being the first primary state to cast ballots.
Add it all up, and Newsom is already fading backward as more voters get to know him. Ironically, it’s the same problem Harris had: The more voters got to know her, the more they didn’t want to know more.
Newsom will not be a 2028 presidential nominee. Mark it down.
People can spot a phony a mile away. That’s Newsom: a guy who clearly will say or do anything to be president.
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And this desire isn’t to better the country, but for his own pathological narcissism. Like Hillary Clinton, he believes he is entitled to sit behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office.
He may look like the kind of guy in a Sorkin film about an American president. But that’s not how it will end for Newsom. Voters are quickly getting past the sizzle to see the steak is nonexistent.
