California Gov. Gavin Newsom says he'd be 'lying' if he denied plans to consider a presidential run
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Oct. 26, 2025, 12:21 PM EDTBy Megan Lebowitz
California Gov. Gavin Newsom said in an interview on "CBS News Sunday Morning" that he would be "lying" if he denied plans to consider a presidential bid.
Asked whether it would be fair to say he would give a presidential bid "serious thought" after the midterm elections, the governor agreed.
"Yeah, I'd be lying otherwise," said Newsom, a Democrat. "I'd just be lying, and I can't do that."
Newsom has become a leading voice in the opposition to President Donald Trump, slamming the administration's handling of issues such as National Guard deployments and immigration raids. He is ineligible to run for re-election as governor in 2026 due to term limits.
His comments come as Democrats have struggled to find a path forward amid low approval ratings. With Republicans in control of the White House, House and Senate, polling this year has indicated that most Democratic voters want congressional Democrats to stick to their positions rather than to seek compromise.
The governor has previously said he would need to have a "why" if he decided to run for president.
Asked by CBS News whether he was closer to finding his reason for running — his "why" — Newsom said that if someone has "a compelling 'why,' you can endure any 'how.'"
"I think the biggest challenge for anyone who runs for any office is people see right through you. If you don't have that 'why,' you're doing it for the wrong reasons," he said.
"Fate will determine that," he added.
Other potential 2028 candidates have begun indicating their openness to a presidential bid. During an interview with the BBC on Saturday, former Vice President Kamala Harris appeared to open the door to another campaign. After Harris said that her nieces would see a female president in their lifetimes, she was asked whether it could be her.
"Possibly," Harris said, also saying during the interview that "I am not done."
Newsom has forcefully pushed back on the Trump administration, frequently mocking the president on social media while the state government has sued the president over multipleNational Guard moves. The Trump administration, in turn, has targeted California, deploying National Guard troops and Marines to Los Angeles after protests against immigration raids.
The governor has also butted heads with Republicans over redistricting. Following the GOP's unconventional mid-decade redistricting in Texas to boost Republicans' chances in the 2026 midterms, he pushed California to counter with its own redistricting plan in favor of Democrats. Republican redistricting efforts have since rippled across the country.
Newsom was first elected governor in 2018. He previously served as the state's lieutenant governor and the mayor of San Francisco.
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Maybe he could win, but he carries the baggage of years in politics. I'm doubtful. The Democratic Party is fractured much like the Republican Party with moderates on one side and populists on the other. The difference is the the establishment still has control, but not enough votes to win.
He is very slick as he lies his ass off.
Anyone with the stats on California should be able to beat him.
I wonder if any from the left will call him out on his 'Trumpian' lying. A recent example...
His dad also had sufficient funding to get his BS from the University of San Francisco and then his JD from Stanford University. The father was a judge and later the administrator of the Getty family trust. His fathers connections to Gordon Getty let to the financial connections that set up Gavin in his early political ambitions.
And he talks about growing up poor.
He should be disqualified for just saying 'bro'. Ha!
Let's get to brass tacks. The fundamental question is whether we want the country run like New York or California? There doesn't seem to be any other alternatives.
All he did was display that he's against enforcement of the law. But then again, we already knew that.
So you put him on the same level of Trump as to be opposed to law enforcement?
Maybe if newsome was enforcing the law I would. But since he's running a sanctuary shithole...
Huh? The universal translator is having difficulty with that language.
Are you attempting to say Newsom is as lawless as Trump? Or does that mean Newsom is as big a dickhead as Trump?
Good thing he's not pardoning violent criminals who physically attacked law enforcement officers.....
Your universal translator is truly malfunctioning. I simply asked a question and made no statement.
But what language is your universal translator attempting to translate my English language question into?
You know, your right. if you don't prosecute them like the Democrats didn't do during the 2020 riots over a drug overdose, then they don't need pardons.
And you have not answered my questions. Is that deliberate? (Another question to avoid.)
Just plain American English. You do speak American English, right?
My question was 1st. Are you deliberately ignoring that?
I did, you're the one requiring a translator to apparently a different, foreign, language.
Remember people. This is the clown to " claims he walked into a restaurant, and the staff was so moved by his presence they sobbed."
Sorry but if this happened there would be more than the blathering's of an idiot to back up such a claim.