Democrat California Gov. Gavin Newsom released a fresh radio show on Wednesday featuring former Trump White House chief strategist Steve Bannon as part of his efforts to reinvent himself forward of 2028.
Within the first two and a half days of the season, Newsom took a swipe at Democrats ‘ duplicity on taxes, saying:” I’m hardly an authoritarian as it relates to being against tariffs by any stretch of the imagination, and I thought it intriguing where we, what I think, Biden tripled tariffs on aluminum and steel, which is getting a lot of interest in this region today as it relates to Canada, and Democrats weren’t screaming and yelling about that, but fair is fair”.
Bannon, host of the popular show War Room, soon went on to describe what “populism” means to him, with Newsom saying he “appreciate]d ]” Bannon’s inclusion of the” the notion of agency” in his definition.
Interestingly, Newsom repeatedly uses the phrase” I appreciate” throughout the episode, especially when he was trying to disagree with Bannon’s position. But listeners shouldn’t be fooled — Newsom likely doesn’t actually appreciate Bannon’s ( or anyone’s ) contrarian position. It’s nothing more than a tactic to appear open-minded without committing to any real change. He’s carefully crafting the narrative that he can “appreciate” a difference of opinion, maybe even consider it, all while protecting his own leftist values.
Newsom also used the podcast as an opportunity to pretend as though his far-leftist tax policies in the Golden State are not “dissimilar” from Bannon’s position on the corporate tax rate.
Bannon immediately shot the comparison down, making it clear he would never take a page out of California’s playbook, pointing to the state’s sky-high taxes. Newsom insisted that California has “moderate income taxes for middle class working folks. It’s the top tax rate, which you’re arguing for a little higher tax rate, which I appreciate on the corporate tax side. I don’t know if it’s completely dissimilar”.
On the topic of bringing manufacturing back to the United States, Newsom said that is a “mutual goal for all of us” though he argued with Bannon about the means to get there.
To close out the episode, Newsom thanked Bannon for joining, saying,” I think]this conversation ] is incredibly valuable. And I appreciate the spirit to which we were able to engage, and I hope we can continue the conversation. … I appreciate your advocacy, I also appreciate that you call balls and strikes as it relates to what you’re seeing with the, with the administration”.
Newsom has a laundry list of issues to address in his state — homelessness, a failing education system, crime, wildfire prevention, the list goes on — but instead, he’s focused on hosting a podcast with guests he fundamentally disagrees with. Just recently Newsom had TPUSA founder Charlie Kirk on his show.
As Peachy Keenan wrote in a post on X, Newsom “is attempting to prove to the country that he can ‘ understand both sides ‘ and ‘ listen to MAGA ‘ and position himself as a bipartisan, reasonable centrist who is not an’ extremist’ or’ polarizing’ like his 2028 opponent JD”.
With California in shambles, Newsom should be focusing on fixing his own state rather than hosting a podcast — but he knows he needs this podcast to try and rehabilitate his far-left persona ahead of 2028.
Brianna Lyman is an elections correspondent at The Federalist. Brianna graduated from Fordham University with a degree in International Political Economy. Her work has been featured on Newsmax, Fox News, Fox Business and RealClearPolitics. Follow Brianna on X: @briannalyman2
