Gavin Newsom is running for president!

Politics, as I have said many times, abhors a vacuum.

Which is what Democrats currently have — a lack of clear leaders providing clear messages about a way forward amid a 2024 election in which they lost at every level.

And that reality brings me to this: Gavin Newsom is starting a podcast!

The conceit appears to be that he is going to talk to people with whom he disagrees about, uh, stuff.

In an interview with Politico, Newsom explained:

We already know what our disagreements are with the MAGA movement. I want to understand what the motivations are, the legitimacy of those motivations, and just really understand where people are coming from. They are influential — they are. They explain more things in more ways on more days about what’s going on and if we’re not trying to understand their motivations, we will be victims of their motivations.

This is, Newsom clearly believes, sort of his brand. Remember in 2023 when he debated Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Fox News? This podcast appears to be a continuation of that sort of message: Newsom will go anywhere and talk to anyone about the power of his vision for the Democratic party! He’s not afraid of the battle of ideas!

Look. Newsom didn’t just wake up one day and decide: I should do a political podcast! This is part of a concerted effort to a) keep him in the national conversation ) burnish his brand (such as it is) and c) get more people to know his name.

Because — and make sure you are holding onto something so you don’t faint — Gavin Newsom wants to run for president in 2028. And, barring some sort of major roadblock, is going to run for president in 2028.

This podcast is a first step. It’s the modern-day equivalent of writing a book about your life and beliefs called “These Truths We Hold” (or something similar).

It’s all starting!

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