California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said he will not run for president in 2028 if former vice president Kamala Harris seeks the office again.
“Of course not. Why would I?” Newsom told CNN’s Jake Tapper in a clip released Monday. “I wouldn’t do that to her. I wouldn’t do it to me. I wouldn’t do that to you.”
The governor said it would be a “waste of everyone’s time” for him to pursue a presidential bid if Harris did again.
Neither of the pair, who share deep roots in California politics, have explicitly said they will launch a 2028 run, but both have indicated they are considering it. In the new video, Newsom said having them both in the primary field would be “mutual assured destruction,” citing their overlapping political bases and circles.
“The [Venn] diagram on that is just pure crossover,” Newsom said while fly-fishing with Tapper in an interview that is set to air in full Tuesday.
The remarks appear to be the first time that Newsom, widely viewed as a top-tier Democratic contender for 2028, has directly said he would not stand in Harris’s way if she wanted to go after the presidency once more.
Newsom made the same vow ahead of the 2024 race, as pressure for President Joe Biden to drop out intensified and some speculated that the California governor might be interested in replacing him. Newsom was quick to endorse Harris, throwing his support behind her before she was even elevated to the top of the ticket.
Her loss in the general election to Donald Trump devastated Democrats, many of whom now say the party needs a new direction. But Harris would enter any race with high name recognition and the chance to orchestrate a campaign on a full timeline that she did not have in 2024.
Newsom has been among more than a dozen high-profile leaders to court speculation that he will stage a run.
“You have to feel like you can stand on that stage with what, 30?” he said in the new interview, adding shortly after there could be “31 flavors” of Democrats eyeing the White House.
Newsom and Harris were rising stars of California’s political universe for decades, never circling too far from each other. Both of their careers centered on San Francisco, where Newsom served as mayor before seeking a governor’s office role, and Harris was a prosecutor and district attorney before she became the California attorney general.
Another Californian, Rep. Ro Khanna (D), is also considering a 2028 run. Other potential Democratic contenders include Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Sen. Jon Ossoff (Georgia) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (New York).
Newsom has generated considerable interest, especially in 2025, for his willingness to mock and confront Trump.
“You gotta be honest with yourself,” Newsom told Tapper in the new clip. “Do you represent the zeitgeist of the moment?”
I’m tired of toothless, spineless, genocide-supporting, all-talk-no-action establishment Democrats running for president. We don’t need another taxpayer funded fake smile. We need someone who is going to bring the hammer down on Trump, his sycophants, his partners in crime, and the Epstein class. And we need someone who will actually fight for the working class, the poor, the marginalized, and immigrants. After Trump, we need more than just another fucking cardboard cutout.
Cool. Neither of you should run.
Newsom is good for jabs and getting under Dump’s skin, but he takes money from the parasite class. We won’t get the kind of change we desperately need for this country. Kamala is done and needs to except that.
We need someone else. Thankfully there’s a few really good candidates.
A long time ago, maybe just after he was elected gov after being SF mayor, Bill Maher suggested to Gavin that he should run for president some day. Gavin said strenuously that he never would. He said “who wants that, that’s the worst job in the world” (I’m paraphrasing slightly from 15 years ago when I still watched that piece of shit.)
I can’t find the clip anywhere, it’s been completely scrubbed from the internet, but I remember it clearly as I had lived in SF while he was Mayor. Kamala was DA then and was a nasty one. Both of them need to STFU.
Not beating the accusations that the DNC primary is rigged
Why is Harris somehow considered the favorite to win? She doesn’t stand a chance.
Nobody wants to bring back the weak, cowardly Biden era. We’re looking for Warriors, and that’s not Newsome or Harris.
I’m tired of Corpo-Establishment Dems. They’re the reason MAGA regained power. They don’t get a second chance to hand it back to MAGA.
Let’s talk about Mark Kelly, or AOC, or Ossoff.
I always saw Harris as warrior in comparison to Biden
Kelly and Ossoff both voted for the Laken Reilly act so they can both go right to hell
I’m mentally preparing for President Tucker Carlson or President Kanye West come 2028 already. Thank you.
“If Kamala runs then I already know we’re going to lose so I don’t need to step in to ensure we lose, she’s got it covered. If she doesn’t run, well then I have to because someone that might actually help people might win and we can’t have that.”
“Someone has to run a counter offensive against the left, so fascism can succeed”
How about neither? Neither is good.
Neither is best
Newsom said having them both in the primary field would be “mutual assured destruction,” citing their overlapping political bases and circles. “The [Venn] diagram on that is just pure crossover”
If you know your political base is exactly the same as someone who already ran and lost, maybe that’s a sign that there’s something deficient with your politics.
We live in hell. These are the options… Corpo Lameduck, or Corpo Sleezebag.
Ya know, while we’re at it, lets just give Hillary another shot too. Like a cascade of shit. If not Hillary then Kamala, if not Kamala then Newsome, if not Newsome then Fetterman…
Still, corpo sleezebag is a proven pedophile, fraudulent rapist who is actively robbing you blind, trying to cheat the election any way he can, tried to overthrow the government. I’ll take corpo lameduck over the sleezebag anytime
oh, you thought I comparing them to trump? nonono… both Newsome and Kamala are corpo cronies. Kamala is lame, and Newsome is a sleaze
Are they preferable to Trump?.. sure, but that’s like, the bare minimum. And it’s how the DNC gets away with providing such absolute dogshit candidates… their argument will be “well, if you don’t like it then you get trump” and so we’re forced to just accept our hyper liberal overlords who will continue to fuck us.
I think I got the midterms and presidential election mixed up
Don’t give them ideas, I could see it happening. Or Chelsea.
Fuck it just have Cheney run
Neither.
Watch as lemmings have a meltdown over their two biggest hatesinks, even though only one of them actually has real reasons to be hated.
And at that point, I’ll forever vote third party if either one of these weak establishment hacks get the democratic nomination.
If we’re stuck with either one, then voting Dem is finally like flogging a completely dead horse.
The time to act is NOW to support the people you want to be voting for later.
If you seriously get to the general presidential election and choose to vote for the fascist option, then you deserve what you get. I sure as fuck don’t.
edit: because I shouldn’t have to say this, but I do not wish to vote for either of them. But I sure as fuck will if they’re the nominee. Because whatever fascist runs against whatever Democrat will be worse.
If Harris runs and newsom drops out maybe this is great, we can primary someone who can actually win!
I’ll say it again, I don’t give a fuck who runs in the primary so long as we have a fair and honest primary without any DNC shenanigans.
