For a man who fancies himself the future of the Democratic Party, Gavin Newsom had a rough Friday night.
The California governor appeared on Real Time with Bill Maher, probably expecting the kind of warm exchange that comes with being a friend of the host.
What he got instead was a methodical, public undressing from one of liberalism's most prominent voices — and it proves how weak Newsom really is as a potential presidential candidate.
It may be early, but the Democratic presidential primary field for 2028 is slowly starting to take shape, andNewsom is quite clearly an early contender.Kamala Harris is the undisputed frontrunner at this point, owing much to her four years as vice president, but Newsom remains the only other potential candidate who has ever topped a primary poll to date. Earlier this year, an Emerson College poll also showed Newsom at 20% nationally, leading the Democratic pack.
The best thing that Newsom has going for him is that the Democrat establishment and donor class aren’t likely to want to gamble the 2028 election on her, given her two prior poorly run campaigns. The only thing that might give them pause is the optics of passing over a black female who happens to be the former vice president of the United States. But, considering the last two female Democratic Party nominees for president, Harris and Hillary Clinton, lost to Donald Trump, there’s plenty of reason to believe that Newsom, as a politically seasoned white male with a national profile, seems like a safer bet.
And yet, that viability is precisely what makes Maher’s observations about Newsom so damaging.
Maher did not come at Newsom with Republican talking points.
He came as a friend with facts about how poorly California has been run on his watch, and that's what made it sting.
"The other side, what they are going to say, though, is, ‘But have you seen the stats from California?’” Maher said, framing the coming attack ad before it's even produced.
Newsom fired back with "Good! One of the largest economies. Let's go!"
Source: ZeroHedge News
