A new episode of the Actual Friends podcast hosted by Dave Rubin and his co-hosts raised a blunt question that every voter should care about: could Gavin Newsom be vulnerable to a MeToo-style scandal that would ruin any Democratic hopes for a 2028 run? The panel treated the possibility seriously, noting that in politics, perception often matters as much as proof and that Republicans should be ready to hold the left to the same standards it demands of conservatives.
That discussion is not coming out of nowhere. Newsom’s administration has faced a string of ethics and personnel headaches, including the recent indictment of a former top aide that hints at federal scrutiny of activity around the governor’s office. For voters tired of elite sleight-of-hand, those legal clouds are not comforting.
Nor has Newsom been shy about lecturing the rest of the country while hobnobbing with powerful donors and influencers who prop up his ambitions. A now-viral photo of him with Alex Soros at Davos exposed the cozy relationships between the governor and big-money elites, fueling questions about whose interests he really represents. The disconnect between Newsom’s sanctimonious rhetoric and his cocktail-party alliances is impossible to ignore.
At the same time, the White House and other critics have publicly rebuked Newsom for political maneuvers inside California — like delaying a special election — that look more like partisan gamesmanship than responsible governance. Voters whose lives have been hurt by failing schools, rising crime, and a housing crisis are not likely to forgive top-down moralizing from a politician whose record is full of contradictions.
We should be clear: speculation about a MeToo scandal is not the same as an accusation. But Democrats built the MeToo movement into a political cudgel, and if allegations ever do surface, they will expect the nation to fall in line. Conservatives should demand the same transparency and accountability from the left that the left claims to want for others, and remind the public that hypocrisy is disqualifying in any party.
The takeaway for patriots is straightforward: stay vigilant, demand facts, and hold the media to account when it chooses which scandals to magnify and which to bury. If Democrats intend to nominate a moralizing, big-city governor in 2028, the country deserves a full accounting of his record — and if there’s smoke, Republicans must be ready to turn up the heat.
