It’s unwise to underestimate Gavin Newsom

When Democrats like Beshear are critical of Newsom, it signifies Newsom is over the target. Democrat on Democrat crime three years prior to a presidential primary is about two years too early under normal circumstances. But Newsom is anything but typical. He is a legend in California. But his governing sometimes approaches insanity. Newsom has signed bills to prevent deforestation that led to wildfires, and he locked California down over COVID-19 for two years. Newsom presents challenges to local governments over zoning.

Newsom even survived a recall election. But his legend isn’t recent news. When Newsom was the mayor of San Francisco, he walked into a news conference and admitted to a relationship with one of his best friend’s wives. Newsom flawlessly addressed it and moved on with his life. There is no reason he should be on top of the Democrat Mountain, but he is. Newsom is gifted in front of the camera. Instead of lampooning his opponents on his podcast, he makes their points the centerpiece of an amicable conversation. Especially if they disagree. Newsom’s new venture is not about the exit ramp of a podcast. It is the interstate to the White House.

With the Charlie Kirk episode, Newsom called boys playing in girls’ sports “deeply unfair.” Never mind that he was one of the first governors in the country to give transgender people the right to do exactly the opposite. I give him all the credit in the world for being an adaptable politician; most people believe what they’re told. When Newsom ran for mayor of San Francisco, he not only dissuaded the GOP from fielding a candidate, he wrote them a check and gave them a seat at the table in his mayoral race. The GOP in San Francisco supported his candidacy. Think about that in 2025. The political class in Washington is full of pompous Ivy League degrees, not Newsom.

Newsom relishes his below average SAT score, his community college experience, his Santa Clara Broncos baseball career, and his founding of a multimillion-dollar wine company. He is a self-made capitalist.

Republicans can underestimate his record; they cannot underestimate his resilience. The rebranding of Newsom in the long form is a master class in amicability. Bannon is one of the most central pieces to President Trump’s 2016 tenure in the White House. Bannon served federal prison time for contempt of Congress over the Jan. 6 subpoena.

Newsom spent more than an hour having Bannon tell his story. All I have ever heard from liberals is that Steven Bannon is a right-wing zealot. All I heard was Newsom genuinely asking Bannon about himself. Neither sounded like they were mentally unstable. There is a huge market for what he is doing that the media hates, because the media belongs to people like Newsom and I.

When Newsom had conservative radio host Michael Savage on his show, he talked glowingly about Savage’s career in radio and literature. They discussed his New York Times bestsellers, but he also highlighted that Savage is a world-renowned botanist. It turns out Savage has plants in some of the most prestigious herbaria in the world. I never knew there was such a thing, but Newsom did. People adore those who pay attention, but they also remember who makes them feel good. That’s not a political lesson, that’s a life lesson.

Newsom will make moderate Republican’s forget every crazy decision he has ever made, and you are going to watch one of the most gifted politicians in America do what he has always done - win.

Keep the receipts. I told you so.

Ben Burnett is a business owner and former member of the Alpharetta City Council. He is a Republican.