“He’s part of this coverup!” Newsom lands FATAL BLOW on Trump in FIERY takedown

“He’s part of this coverup!” Newsom lands FATAL BLOW on Trump in FIERY takedown

I’m joined now by the governor of California. We’re here in Sacramento in the governor’s mansion. I appreciate you taking the time. No, great to be with you. Thanks for coming up. So, you met today with the delegation from Texas. Obviously, Greg Abbott in Texas is looking to jerrymander those maps even further. So, first and foremost, what is the state of possible midcycle redistricting right now in California? It we have an independent redistricting which I supported. I was one of the few Democrats at the time that publicly supported it, elected Democrats at the time. uh to move away from partisan gerrymandering which should happen and the point we made then when it was on the ballot was it should happen all across the United States right that didn’t happen hasn’t taken shape and so what’s happened is now we’re at a disadvantage we’re trying to play by one set of rules and these folks on the other side have played by completely different set of rules so much so that the president of the United States called Greg Abbott and told him in essence find five additional seats so we can rig the election next year and maintain the power and authority uh with the House of Representatives which de facto amounts to no power, no authority, complete capitulation so Trump can continue to run rough shot over our rights and liberties. So what are what are the options presented to us right now? I know that there’s going to be some legal hurdles that that you know if push comes to shove we’ll have to we’ll have to look at but but what’s on the table as of right now? So right now the most important uh caucus is the the the delegation of Democratic representatives in the state of California uh that would have their districts changed uh mid decade. Uh then number two we need to get twothirds of our California legislature to put it on the ballot to create a special election. And then three, uh the ultimate authority uh be vested in the people of the state of California that would have to make the determination uh of whether or not we should continue uh to play by one set of rules uh as uh these guys continue to rig uh the game and play by a wholly different set of rules. So that’s one process. Second one is a legislative process uh independent of the independent redistricting. there’s a novel legal theory uh that there’s it’s silent about redistricting mid uh uh sort of mid decade mid uh census and so on that basis it would be to test that theory would be an easier path in some respect uh but it’s also a path that wouldn’t necessarily give voice and choice uh to the public uh and so I have my own uh preferred path but the legislature will ultimately make the determination can those two things happen concurrently this way if one fails at the courts or whatever it may be, then you at least have another process you can look at. Look, conceivably that’s the case. We’re in session right now, so I don’t need to call a special session, which is good. Uh, and as a consequence of that, uh, the legislature will kick tires in relates to these options and, uh, and and and and make the best judgment they possibly can. The cleanest path, I think, just being candid with folks, the cleanest path would be to go back in front of the voters to make the case uh that things have radically changed since the last time this was presented in front of the voters. And as a consequence, we need to change. Uh they would recognize uh the stakes as it relates to Texas. We can in essence likely neuter uh the total number of districts that Trump is looking to get with Abbott in uh in rigging th those maps uh here in the state of California. Hope other governors consider doing similar things. You’ve got to fight fire with fire. This is an existential moment. We have agency. We can act superior. We can act holier than thou and watch the last half century wiped out in real time. I think we need to be held to a higher level of accountability and meet this moment and and lean in on this and get tough. And I want to talk about those other governors in a moment. But first, right here in California, there is a little bit of of of I guess opposition to this. Um, there was an assembly member, Alex Lee, who had come out and said that doing this would kick off a cycle of gerrymandering. Uh, that would kind of lead us down, you know, to to a a bad place in politics. My my response to this when I look at this is we’re already there. I mean, Republicans have jerrymandered Ohio, Florida, they’re looking to do it in Texas right now. Utah, North Carolina, it’s within an inch of its life. And so what is your response to those folks in the assembly in the California legislature who who you know I guess are are opposing this because they think it’s going to set some type of a bad precedent. Yeah. I mean I think that was a minority view meaning he’s deeply an exception. I’ve not heard any other utterance from any other member uh of the Democratic caucus. In fact quite the contrary. Uh it’s been a chorus of support saying what can we do to help? What are the pathways? What are our considerations? What’s the timing on this? And I’m not even sure at the end of the day the final analysis uh he would in essence even agree with his own statement. He’s a friend and I try to I don’t want to cast dispersions on that. I don’t think he fully absorbed the lay of the land as you just laid out. These guys have been rigging the gerrymandering these districts. They’ve been I mean look what happened in North Carolina a few years ago. In essence was a balanced. It was the difference, by the way, between Speaker uh Jeff today versus Speaker Johnson was just what they did in North Carolina. I mean, the consequences, what more evidence of the consequences do we need? So, I I think in the final analysis, there’ll be overwhelming support here. How committed to getting this done are you? And I as I asked this because look, I’m I’m a Democrat, and part of being a Democrat is seeing that when the Republicans want to get something done, they won’t let anything stand in their way. not the laws, not judges, not the US Constitution. And like if Trump wants to do something, he’ll he’ll just do it. And and that’s obviously a point of consternation among Democrats who are at the opposite end of the spectrum where, you know, we had HR1, our our top priority when Democrats had full control of the House, the Senate, and the White House. Granted, we didn’t have enough to overcome the filibuster, but we did have enough votes to eliminate the filibuster if we wanted to, which is to say that was our top priority, and we couldn’t get it done with full control of It’s exhausting. I’m sick of it, and I don’t want to be on the receiving end of that anymore. I’m sick and tired of being on our heels. Got to be on our toes. It’s not about, you know, fighting back. It’s about leaning forward and it’s about setting the tone and tenor. It’s a I’m sick of this party needs to wake up. These guys aren’t screwing around. And I say this not in literal sense, but they’re assassins when it comes to the way they weaponize grievance and the way they play politics. Yeah. Enough. I mean, what more goddamn evidence do we need? Excuse my language. I mean, they’ve rolled back the last half century in real time. That’s just 6 months, right? Can you imagine this guy having an additional 42 months with no system of checks and balances, no oversight? I mean, seriously, the hell else more evidence do you need? This is an existential moment. And so Democrats, if we want to have a party, if we want to be functioning not just as a party, but as a democracy, if we want a system of checks and balances, we believe in the rule of law, if you believe in popular sovereignty. This is not about popular sovereignty. This guy wants to wire. He tried to break this democracy, try to light it on fire on January 6th. He just made a call to the governor of Texas saying in this case, not find me the votes, but find me new seats to rig the game. If we want to still be in this game, we need to disabuse ourselves, disenthol ourselves of the status quo in the past. We have got to enter a new mindset, and we’ve got to get back on this playing field. And we’ve got to do with the kind of vigor that our kids and grandkids deserve. That liberty and freedom deserves this moment. The founding fathers deserve, the principles that define the best of Roman Republic and Greek democracy. That’s on the line unless we stand the line and stand guard of this democracy. And that means we got to go on offense. No more defense. Go on offense. Fight fire with fire. So you ask me, am I in? I’m all in. You ask me I’m committed. I’m all in. Committed and resolved. And so this is not a bluff. This is a moment to be held to a higher level of accountability. So to that point then um we know that Texas is going to do this. Trump has already issued his clarion on call to other states. We’ve heard of Republicans in Missouri uh possibly doing this. And look there there are states across the country where you know Democrats dane to have one congressional seat or two congressional seats in an otherwise red state. And those are obviously all going to be on the table as far as Republicans are concerned because Trump says jump. They say how high. And so what would your message be in this moment to governors of other states where Democrats control the process? states like New York, states like New Jersey, Maryland, Illinois, Washington, Oregon, where we can, to your using your exact words, fight fire with fire. Uh I’m encouraged in the last few days, you’re seeing governors now publicly state what I believe they believe privately uh in a more assertive way. Uh that the te Texas delegation to their credit have helped us I think you know develop a little more courage on this. I mean, the fact that they took time to fly out of their state to meet with me, they’re meeting with other governors. Uh they met with them today. They’re reaching out. Um I am a little more confident uh that we’re going to wake up to this reality in a way that’s a lot more aggressive and more assertive. Um you’re seeing it take shape. There’s been a little timidity, which I understand because again, you know, when they go high, we get all all that. I mean, I I get all that. It’s just Come on. Yeah. Things have changed. You got That’s a slogan of a past era at this point. It just is. with Trump, it all all bets are off. Well, I I think part of the benefit for them is they recognize they factor it in that they’re that they have a weak adversary and so that kind of emboldens them to know that they can run rough shot over over what o over the Constitution over laws over Democrats if they want to because historically Democrats haven’t fought back and so what would the what would the impediment be for them? Yeah. I mean I I as you’re saying that there’s just a vivid image of McConnell in the Supreme Court. Exactly. I mean, Jesus, Democrats, come on. Wake up. Wake up. This thing may be gone. This whole thing. Yeah. In a matter of years. I mean, I feel like it’s a matter of months. So, this is like if you if you’re not going to do it, step a not it’s one of those things. It’s just like, come on. But that’s exactly right. If you’re not willing to fight at a moment where someone is fighting, then you And I again, I just I I want I I I have a romantic view of the world as well. I I want the sort of sorcin music in the background and the soaring speech to our higher angels to find that soul. But not at this moment. We’re in a war right now and we’re in the trenches and this guy is rolling us and he thinks we’re weak. So let’s not act weak. He thinks we’re meek. Let’s not act meekly. Let’s meet this moment head on. And we have we have two things. We have formal authority. We still have it in so many of these states. We have states like California with the state of mind where you can pick up five plus seats uh and we can push back. But we also have moral authority because we know what we’re fighting for. We know who we’re fighting against. And so when you have moral authority and formal authority, you need to exercise it at peril of being judged not to have lived. And all of us will judge ourselves even more extraordinar extremely that is uh if we don’t meet this moment. So let’s not dream of regretting those that had the privilege like I do public service at this moment. I’m so blessed. I mean, if I was on the sideline kicking and screaming, just trying to throw things at or just, you know, sending messages, watching something like this, that’s hard. I I empathize with that. And so, I’m just I’m so lucky to be that voice to the extent I can. And so, I’m just I’m going to do my best. I don’t want to overpromise here. There’s still a lot of issues we’re trying to address and kick the tires on. But um if we don’t win back this house, if we don’t take back the house, we may not have an election in 2028. That is not a gross exaggeration. I mean, when you receive in the mail a Trump 2028 hat by one of Trump’s biggest influencers, they mean business, right? This is a moral moment. Uh this is the game. This is it. Um and uh and we cannot tap out. Right. This is the the saying where they tell you who they are, believe them. Right. Believe them. Um okay, I want to switch topics a little bit right now because uh I would be remiss not to ask you about the biggest story happening in the country right now, which is Epstein. Just today, Trump came out and said that uh when he was asked if he was briefed by the DOJ um about being in the Epstein files, he said no. Two days ago, it came out in the Wall Street Journal that in fact Pam Bondi did brief the president. And so what’s your reaction to the fact that he is still perpetuating this lie, right? Well, he’s lying to cover up his prior lies and then lying again. Now he doesn’t even know truth uh from fiction. And so look, uh he’s caught it red-handed. He’s in the files. We know it. Period. Full stop. That’s not that’s not that’s not even acade. We know what this is all about. He told Bondi uh Pam Bondi not to uh move forward. It’s the idea that he has to fire her. used to step down himself uh if he fires her because he directed her not to release these files. I always assumed that. Now we know uh that she briefed him. So he’s lying uh he’s part of this cover up. Uh and he has confused even the most uh ardent observers here. I mean you can’t the guy’s a pretzel on this issue. Every hour uh he contradicts a statement. You got the the Olympics coming in California in 2028. He can join the gymnastics. I I’m not even sure. I think that there have to be an additional sports because even gymnastics doesn’t have enough just, you know, uh flips and turns and everything. I look, it’s a hell of a thing. And so I’m Look, I this guy you you reap what you sew. He created this. He weaponized. He’s done it from the birth certificate on down. He plays he does this little thing with Q the whole thing too cute by half and now he’s caught. and real people. I mean, I I was on a podcast with Sean Ryan, who’s, you know, remarkable person in many ways, uh, incredible u uh, supporter of Trump. Yeah. And he expressed in like real terms, you know, how disappointed and now it’s he’s questioning everything. And I think this is a real political problem uh, for Trump in a way that prior um, patches of problems have not been. Well, you know, you you’ve had the opportunity to speak with a lot of these right-wing influencers. you just mentioned one, you’ve also spoken with Charlie Kirk and so you know these guys and a lot of them spent the campaign staking their support building up their reputation on this issue and so as you kind of see them trying to contort themselves to figure out where they’re going to go and we’ve seen moments where some of them you know decide that hey I’m I’m going to just attach my lips to Trump’s ass and that’ll be and that’ll be how it goes. And then you have some others who are actually um showing a little bit of spine and speaking out. So, what’s your message to these folks in the right-wing media ecosystem who are figuring out where they want to go right now? Uh whether it’s, you know, just to follow Trump at all cost, no matter what he says, or to show some independence in light of these new updates. Well, I mean, people come and go. Reputations can be destroyed in um in in a moment. I mean, just you your reputation is the only thing you’ve got. I mean, the coin of the realm is trust. You’ve built audiences. You have incredible influence. Uh Trump is not going to be president forever, even if he gets a third term or tries to manipulate a third term. Uh you know, fate in life. Uh there’s an expiration date for all of us. Uh these folks want to continue to build their platforms. Uh and they’re losing a lot of people. And you know, you start to lose people on this. They don’t trust you on not just Trump. They won’t trust these guys. Continue to have these guys back. He’ll turn his back on all of them. There’s not one of them. I mean, he all but said that he laid these guys out. His biggest supporters may have been the difference in the election. Yeah. And he turned on them. He has zero loyalty. At least be loyal to your followers on your own. You built these unbelievable platforms. Um and people are following you. Uh have the decency um I think to have the back of those that are following you. Trump doesn’t care about the people following, but those that run these platforms, I hope they consider their audience. He was also asked uh whether he was considering uh pardoning Galain Maxwell. This is somebody who is you know somebody who is completely depraved who is an accomplice to to a a notorious famed pedophile who has since died and and instead of giving the correct answer which is no. I would not consider offering a pardon to somebody like this. He said I have the right. He reasserted his right to be able to do that. Sending a pretty clear signal. We also found out from Gla Maxwell’s attorney that she is seeking a pardon. So we have Trump who’s not ruling it out. We have uh her attorney who is overtly saying her attorney, you know, Trump’s a great deal maker. We’ve had so many candidates doing what he knows what he knows is required. This is sick stuff. This is sick. I mean, if you’re a conspiracy theorist, I mean, they’re going to turn me into one. Why the hell are we even talking to her? Yeah. What? What? A pardon for what? No, seriously. For what? Why? Why are you Why is your personal attorney now at the DOJ meeting with her personal at For what purpose? What is this about? You said, “Forget this. Move on. What? I I don’t even understand what this is about. To pardon her for what? To have your back to life. I mean, now we’re going deeper. And now I’m starting to think, well, that maybe he’s not just on these files. I mean, maybe this is even deeper. I mean, I’m not kidding. This is not starting like even things where I’m like, okay, this guy just didn’t want the association, wanted to make this about Democrats or some five fancy mutual friends he may have had. Didn’t want to embarrass them and there’s been pressure there. People have written big checks to him. Maybe they’re part of his crypto uh uh scams and and that. But when you’re meeting with her, with your former personal attorney, and you’re literally socializing, which he does, this is what he does. He tests the there. He throws something out. Starts to lay the groundwork. Lays the ground work. He’s serious about it. For what? Why? I mean, so this where he’s on the other side. This guy’s I I said this to you a few months ago and more and more evidence every single day. He’s he’s lost a step. This is not the same Trump 1.0. This is a something’s off increasingly off. Um and he’s getting he’s unmed in ways even by Trump’s standards. I haven’t seen I I don’t want to overstate this moment, but you can’t understate this uh something something ain’t right, as they say. And finally, let’s finish off with this. Uh to that exact point on being on board, uh I I suppose you don’t think it’s especially presidential to go on some spree talking about changing the Washington commander’s name, denaturalizing Rosie O’Donnell, getting cane sugar and Coca-Cola, relitigating Hillary’s emails in the year 2025, and then of course arresting Barack Obama. And so in light of his kind of dissembling that’s happening on the public stage, what’s your response to what we’re seeing uh uh from the president? It reminds me of a a punch drunk boxer. He’s just wildly flailing. He’s flailing. Um he’s just zigging and zagging. He’s desperate. He’s trying anything. Trying to chum the waters and it’s not working. And normally it works for him. Um it’s not working right now. I mean, that’s why he’s off promoting his golf courses in Scotland. Get me the hell out of here. problem is wherever he goes, his reputation uh you know this sort of degenerate nature of who he currently is uh follows him and uh and that’s why I think this one uh is going to have uh not just some more explaining to do. He’s going to have to do a lot more than he’s done in the past to be able to dig his way out of this. Governor Newsome, appreciate uh you taking the time. Thanks for dressing up a little tie this time for you buddy. [Music]

INTERVIEW: Gavin Newsom hits Trump on Epstein, Texas gerrymander

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