EJ Haust, a digital marketing expert and official guest host of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show, said California Governor Gavin Newsom “wants to be famous” with the rollout of his new podcast called “This is Gavin Newsom.”
Newsom, whose term as governor ends in January 2027, said his new podcast is a way for him to speak with individuals he “deeply disagrees with” to “talk about the most pressing issues of the day.”
Last week, Newsom released the first episode of his new podcast in which he interviewed conservative commentator and co-founder of Turning Point USA, Charlie Kirk.
During the 71-minute interview, Newsom and Kirk discussed a wide range of topics surrounding politics and culture.
Haust said Newsom’s launch of a podcast points to his future endeavors, whether it be running for president or seeking fame.
“Gavin Newsom…is scripted. Everything is a show. Everything is on purpose. It’s not spontaneous. It’s planned. It’s scripted. It’s poll-tested. He thinks being the sexy guy from California is going to resonate with people, particularly voters, that he needs if he’s going to run for president,” Haust explained on Friday’s show.
Haust pointed out Newsom’s appearance during the interview in which he sported skinny jeans, a black open shirt, and a slicked-back hairstyle, explaining how the governor’s appearance is done “on purpose” to “resonate” with audiences.
“It’s the leather chair and the open shirt. It looks like this den background with the dark colors and everything else so that you really just look at him and focus on that face and those teeth. It’s this, I don’t know, underlying sexual undertone kind of thing, and Gavin really thinks that’s going to resonate because it probably has resonated for all of his adult life,” Haust said.
“If you spend that much on your skin, your hair, your teeth, your face, your dress, your backdrop, you’re doing that for a reason. It’s all very much on purpose…It’s about this surface level image that they’re portraying that used to work, but I don’t think that works now,” Haust added.
Aside from Newsom’s appearance, Haust, while discussing the substance of the governor’s interview with Kirk, expressed concern with conservatives participating in the seemingly friendly environment and ultimately giving Newsom and the Democratic Party a “playbook” to fight back against the Republican Party.
“[Kirk’s] giving him the playbook to fight back, and I wish he wouldn’t do that,” Haust said.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Photo “Charlie Kirk and Gavin Newsom” by Gavin Newsom.
