Newsom says prominent Dems bailed on his podcast after Charlie Kirk interview, hits party's cancel culture

California Gov. Gavin Newsom spoke with The Guardian in an interview released Saturday, discussing what he believes is the key reason the Democratic Party lost the 2024 election.

"Politics Weekly America" podcast host and Guardian columnist Jonathan Freedland noted that Newsom keeps a 30-page notebook listing the reasons he believes Democrats lost the 2024 election. He asked the governor, "What is number one on that list and what are you learning from these conversations with the right that goes on that list about why Democrats lost and Trump won?"

"I think that the deeper I get into sort of reflecting on this — and that's part of the podcast as well is having guests on, Democrats, Republicans and asking them, you know, asking the far-right, asking the MAGA movement why," Newsom said. "And the point I think that I keep hearing, and that it needs to be emphasized, is that it didn't happen with Joe Biden and Kamala Harris."

California Gov. Gavin Newsom looks on during a bill signing event related to redrawing the state’s congressional maps on Aug. 21, 2025, in Sacramento, California.  (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

One of the key ideas that emerged in recent years as a result of Democrats’ behavior, Newsom said, was "frankly, we were becoming a little too judgmental."

"Give me an example of the ‘judgmental’ thing," Freedland asked. 

"This idea that somehow you're countenancing a point of view or perspective by engaging in conversations, that somehow you're complicit in that respect," Newsom said. "I mean, the condemnation I got for having Charlie Kirk on was off the charts. I could give you — and I won't — but there were two or three well-known Democratic politicians that canceled. They were coming on next. They were my next guests. They all canceled right after that."

He added, "There was a purity test — you know, ‘If you're not 100% down the line in terms of the orthodoxy of the party on issues.’"

NEWSOM SAYS 'FATE' WILL DECIDE IF HE FACES OFF AGAINST HARRIS IN 2028 PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY

Gavin Newsom's interview with Charlie Kirk made waves in politics precisely because it was a progressive governor having a friendly conversation with a staunch conservative about some of the most contentious political issues, even agreeing that the inclusion of biological men in women's sports is "deeply unfair." (Screenshot/This is Gavin Newsom)

Newsom defended his record as a progressive, saying he helped move the ball forward on same-sex marriage "well before the Democratic Party was interested in marriage equality."

"I've been out front on these issues, but I have a difference of opinion with my party on sports for transgender athletes and there was tremendous judgment and condemnation for that point of view," he said. "Somehow saying, ‘I've abandoned the LGBTQ community. I've walked away. I'm throwing them under the bus.’ It's that kind of tonality, I think, that pulls people away."

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California Gov. Gavin Newsom appears to be one of the chief contenders for the 2028 election, but has not yet publicly announced he is running. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

When asked whether he had decided to run for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination, Newsom said, "Absolutely I have not, sincerely and for multiple reasons. I’ve got a sense of where the world is at the moment. We’ll see where it is a year from now, two years from now."

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"I'm not going to say no because I'd be lying by saying that. But I absolutely cannot say yes," Newsom added.

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