NASHVILLE — California’s Democrat governor and potential 2028 presidential candidate Gavin Newsom began his nationwide book tour in a red state on Saturday night, but he didn’t use the night to continue his move to the center.
The event was moderated by Justin Kanew of the leftist media outlet the Tennessee Holler, whose disdain for the Trump administration and conservative policies was also made evident multiple times. Throughout the evening, the Newsom weaved back and forth between discussing the book and his life journey and raging against President Donald Trump and Republicans.
Newsom spent much of his time pushing the typical Democratic talking points, such as calling out Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations and criticizing Republican-led efforts to pass strict voter ID requirements through the Save America Act. But the governor also echoed some rhetoric from the far-Left wing of the party, saying that America’s economic system “fundamentally has to be reformed.”
“We’re talking about trillionaires now, not billionaires, so this isn’t working for enough folks. If you’re 30 years old, you’re the first generation in American history that’s not doing better than their parents,” Newsom said. “So Bernie [Sanders] is right in that respect. Donald Trump was right, but he exploited it, and he has not done a damn thing to solve it and he’s just making it worse.”
“So the system fundamentally has to be reformed,” he added.
Newsom also agreed with Kanew that the next Democratic president should be more aggressive with executive actions.
“We are capable of doing much more,” he said.
The evening, which focused on Newsom’s new memoir, “Young Man in a Hurry,” drew hundreds of people. It also allowed Newsom an opportunity to inform Democratic voters about his background and personal life. The California governor remains the betting favorite to win the 2028 Democratic nomination.
Newsom touted his own record on the economy as governor and boasted about signing legislation that is set to increase the minimum wage in California to $20 per hour for fast food workers and $25 per hour for many health care workers. He then blasted other states, hinting at Tennessee, for not raising their minimum wages. Newsom did not address data that shows that numerous restaurants in California cut thousands of jobs and raised prices after the minimum wage hike.
Newsom expressed concern that Trump is attempting to hijack the 2026 midterm elections through his push for redistricting, ICE operations, and the Save America Act, but he remained optimistic that Democrats would take control of the House after the midterms.
“Donald Trump’s presidency de facto ends as we know it in November of this year when Speaker [Hakeem] Jeffries gets the gavel. It does. That’s going to happen,” he said.
The moderator then asked Newsom, “Are the elections going to matter? Is [Trump] going to steal the election? He’s going after the Georgia ballots, he’s already planning to surround the polls with ICE, so obviously voter suppression is on his mind because he knows he can’t necessarily win.”
Newsom agreed with the concerns brought up by Kanew and mentioned how former Trump adviser Steve Bannon has called for ICE agents to surround polling places in November. Bannon, who is now a podcast host, has not advised Trump since 2017. Acting ICE director Todd Lyons told Congress earlier this month that “there’s no reason to use ICE officers” in that situation.
The governor’s criticism of ICE again on Saturday night comes a month after he admitted to Daily Wire Editor Emeritus Ben Shapiro that it was “fair” to criticize his office for calling ICE agents terrorists.
Newsom’s admission came after Shapiro told the governor that accusing ICE of terrorism “makes our politics worse” and “our ICE officers are obviously not terrorists.”
Newsom stated bluntly on Saturday that he opposes the Republicans’ Save America Act, which would require voters to provide proof of citizenship when they register to vote. The governor suggested the Save America Act would prevent Americans from voting because many people don’t have a passport or their birth certificate.
“It’s not about voter ID, the Save Act is not about that. It’s about registration. It’s about proving your citizenship with a passport. Not everyone has a passport,” Newsom said. “I don’t know where … do you know where your birth certificate is? I lost that at seven. I don’t even know where to begin to get it back.”
The crowd, which gathered at an event space in west Nashville, consisted mostly of middle-aged and elderly people.
