Gavin Newsom’s recent appearance on a popular Black podcast did not look like the confident national-stage rehearsal he and his handlers hoped for — it looked like a man under pressure. When hosts pressed him on his record and his media feuds, the governor came off defensive, flustered, and eager to control the narrative rather than answer plain questions from everyday people.
Instead of sober answers, Newsom turned to vulgar theatrics, snarling about Joe Rogan and demanding to be on his show while tossing around profanity. That spectacle is not leadership; it’s a candidate trying to perform toughness on camera to paper over a trail of failed policies.
Americans aren’t fooled by scripted outrage and carefully edited soundbites. While Newsom tries to bait culture-war figures into ratings duels, Californians are still living with the consequences of his failed governance — rampant homelessness, skyrocketing costs, and cities that struggle to keep residents safe and prosperous. He can shout and cuss all he wants, but yelling into a microphone won’t bring back businesses, families, or law and order.
What’s worse is the obvious political calculation in his posture: use theatrical outrage to distract from real policy failures, then pat himself on the back for being “willing to talk” to anyone who’ll give him airtime. That performative bravado is a danger when it replaces accountability; politics should be about solving problems, not staging fights for viewers.
Meanwhile, Newsom’s recent decisions on race and policy expose the gap between his rhetoric and his results. He vetoed at least one high-profile reparations-related bill while signing funding for studies — a move that frustrated activists who wanted tangible relief over more studies and press releases. Californians deserve leaders who deliver real solutions, not carefully calibrated gestures that play well in elite media circles.
And yet Newsom now plays the congressional grandstander, calling for investigations into partisan scandals when it suits him, while his own backyard remains a mess. That kind of selective outrage is the opposite of principled leadership; it shows a politician more interested in headlines than in doing the hard work of governing.
Hardworking Americans don’t want more staged confrontations or hollow piety from a governor who’s overseen the decline of once-great cities. They want leaders who answer direct questions, accept responsibility, and deliver concrete results. If Newsom truly wants a shot at national leadership, he should stop flailing on podcasts and start fixing California.
