California Governor Gavin Newsom may be term-limited out of Sacramento in 2026, but he’s clearly not done with politics. In a new interview with CBS News Sunday Morning, Newsom admitted what many have long suspected: he’s eyeing the White House.
“Yeah, I’d be lying otherwise,” Newsom said when asked if he’d give “serious thought” to a presidential bid after the 2026 midterms. “I’d just be lying. And I’m not — I can’t do that.”
Newsom told CBS that “fate will determine” his decision, but his frequent travels to early primary states like South Carolina, his national media presence, and his efforts to position himself as a counterweight to President Trump all point toward an inevitable 2028 run.
“I happen to, and thank God, I’m in the right business,” Newsom said. “I love people. I actually love people.”
The governor framed his current focus around Proposition 50, a controversial redistricting measure he claims is about “our democracy,” but which critics argue is a blatant power grab designed to reshape congressional maps in favor of Democrats.
“I think it’s about our democracy. It’s about the future of this republic. It’s about… the rule of law, and not the rule of Don,” Newsom told CBS News.
That kind of rhetoric is classic Newsom: defiant, combative, and self-righteous. But beneath the polished interviews and smooth talk lies a record filled with reversals, contradictions, and policies that have left California reeling.
As Legal Insurrection noted earlier this year, Newsom has been “making a desperate bid for both money and relevance” as his state faces a staggering $68 billion deficit and soaring costs for Medi-Cal, California’s health program for low-income residents.
“Liberal Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a $2.8 billion bailout Monday to close the state’s bloated deficit in California’s Medicaid program… which surpassed projections due to the program’s expansion last year to include illegal immigrants.”
When that expansion proved fiscally disastrous, Newsom quietly reversed course.
“Under a plan that is part of a larger budget proposal Newsom will unveil later this morning, adults 19-years-old and older who are living in the country illegally would no longer be able to register for the state’s Medi-Cal insurance program beginning in 2026.”
So much for progressive consistency.
And then there’s his tone-deaf habit of mocking religious Americans. Following a tragic school shooting in Minneapolis, Newsom took to X (formerly Twitter) to deride Christians offering prayers for the victims.
“Newsom thought it was a good idea to double down on the faith-based attacks by zeroing in on House Speaker Mike Johnson… over his defense of prayer and his criticisms of Democrats for being wildly out of touch.”
For someone preparing a presidential run, Newsom’s dismissive attitude toward faith, his fiscal recklessness, and his political opportunism may play well in coastal enclaves, but not in the heartland.
As Legal Insurrection’s Stacey Matthews observed, “Assuming Newsom does what we all know he wants to do and runs for president in 2028, this is an area he does not want to go into… he will absolutely get torched for it and drag vulnerable Democrats down with him.”
Newsom may charm CBS News audiences with talk of “fate” and “democracy,” but the fate he’s really courting is that of a governor whose state is unraveling, and whose record, when held up to the national spotlight, may be too tarnished to withstand scrutiny.
CLICK HERE FOR FULL VERSION OF THIS STORY