California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) sat down with MAGA influencer and organizer Charlie Kirk for the first episode of his new podcast, which dropped on Thursday. Newsom, who is working to rebrand the Democratic Party and muster some kind of opposition to the Trump administration, asked Kirk for advice as to how the Democrats can create better content.
“I think you talked about it the other day. A lot of folks were talking about that [James] Carville article where he talked about–” Newsom said at one point as Kirk interjected, “Roll over and play dead.”
“In essence, he said that, I think it was a strategic retreat, right. That we need to come back. Trump’s starting to implode. His numbers are getting soft. This was even before the tariff issues, etc., and then come back and strike one hot,” Newsom continued, adding:
And I immediately, no BS, thought about you who’s just 24/7 flooding the zone, owning this space every day, getting a convert every day, picking up 1, 2, 10,000 folks, continuing the momentum coming out of this damn election. And then I’m thinking about we’re going to stand back and watch you run circles around us for six months — the next 2 or 3 years, waiting for the moment to finally strike. Struck me as not necessarily the best advice. And it’s not a knock on Carville. Who, I have deep respect for what you thought.
“Okay, so I don’t, but I don’t have to. He was right about one thing in the last 40 years, ‘It’s the economy stupid.’ And oh boy, he has spent down that one line pretty amazingly,” Kirk said as Newsom laughed.
“Yeah. I hope you guys retreat,” Kirk added.
“You kind of like the advice. You like the advice?” added Newsom.
“I mean, there’s no opposition. There’s no opposition, activist spark. You guys are posting these cringe videos on social media,” Kirk replied.
“What are the videos? What are the ones? I don’t know,” Newsom pressed.
“This, like harmonious thing of like 22 senators all saying the same thing,” Kirk said, offering an example.
“Oh, I didn’t like that. Yeah,” agreed Newsom.
“I didn’t like it, but go ahead, go do more of that,” Kirk replied.
“What do you do? But what do you do? Seriously, Charlie Kirk, give us some advice,” Newsom asked.
“Get better ideas, governor,” Kirk replied.
Kirk’s Turning Point USA has been a key group boosting MAGA during Trump’s time in politics, rallying young voters and growing the president’s base. The organization holds annual conferences and voter registration drives across the country. Kirk also hosts a popular podcast, which has made headlines over the years for controversial comments made and stances taken by Kirk, including a recent campaign to eliminate Martin Luther King Jr. day and the Civil Rights Act.
Watch the clip above, full podcast here.