California Governor Gavin Newsom’s attempt to appeal to conservatives through his new podcast has backfired spectacularly, causing his favorability ratings to plummet among his liberal base. His strategy of interviewing MAGA figures like Charlie Kirk and Steve Bannon has alienated Democrats while failing to win over Republicans who view his outreach as transparent pandering.
Liberal Support Collapses After Conservative Outreach
Newsom’s favorability among liberals has drastically fallen from 46% to just 30% following the launch of “This is Gavin Newsom Podcast.” His net favorability has plunged into negative territory, dropping from +4 to -6 as liberals reject his newfound willingness to platform conservative voices.
The podcast has become a major political liability with only 13% of voters reporting they like Newsom more after listening to it. A mere 20% of respondents expressed any interest in tuning in to future episodes, suggesting the governor’s media experiment has failed to resonate with either side of the political spectrum.
Holy crap, the feedback from Gavin Newsom’s podcast is disastrous for Gavin Newsom:
– Favorability amongst Liberals has declined from 46% to 30%.
– Republicans overwhelmingly viewed him as insincere, calling him “fake” and “pandering”
– His net favorability dropped from +4 to… pic.twitter.com/Kx8H5YYvlm
— Kevin Dalton (@TheKevinDalton) March 17, 2025
MAGA Figures Exploit Newsom’s Platform
Conservative guests have used Newsom’s podcast as an opportunity to criticize him directly while receiving effusive praise from the California governor. Charlie Kirk openly mocked Newsom’s approach, rolling his eyes while recounting how the governor had been “overly-effusive in his praise of me” before criticizing him for “destroying California.”
Republicans have largely viewed Newsom’s outreach as “fake” and an obvious attempt at “pandering” to conservatives ahead of potential future political ambitions. The entire exercise has highlighted the growing divide in American politics where even attempts at cross-partisan dialogue are viewed with suspicion and often backfire politically.
Trans Comments Spark Additional Backlash
Newsom’s agreement with Kirk on transgender student-athletes has particularly angered his progressive base. In his debut episode, the governor stated, “I think it’s an issue of fairness, I completely agree with you on that. It is an issue of fairness — it’s deeply unfair,” seemingly contradicting California’s own 2013 law on transgender student-athletes.
What Gavin Newsom is doing here with his podcast is ridiculous.
He allowed his state to be burned to the ground, overrun by illegals, and collapsed into a pit of debt.
And now he’s trying to launch his presidential campaign by rebranding himself.
Gross.pic.twitter.com/U409zENoeb
— Paul A. Szypula 🇺🇸 (@Bubblebathgirl) March 13, 2025
“I am not wrestling with the fairness issue. I totally agree with you,” Newsom told Kirk, further alienating LGBTQ+ advocates and progressives who had previously supported him.
Newsom’s favorability collapse mirrors broader Democratic Party struggles, with the party’s national favorability now at just 29% – its lowest since 1992. The timing couldn’t be worse for Democrats attempting to regroup after Donald Trump’s 2024 election victory and navigate the post-Biden landscape while internal conflicts continue to divide the party.
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Gavin Newsom’s favorability plummets after Cali. Gov. accused of ‘pandering’ to MAGA