Add The New York Post on Google California Gov. Gavin Newsom continues to flounder ahead of his seemingly inevitable campaign for president — the one he wavered on and jeopardized during a recent conversation with CNN’s Jake Tapper.
With the pair standing in a stream casting fishing lines, Newsom dropped a bomb: If former Vice President Kamala Harris, his fellow Californian and longtime frenemy, runs again, he wouldn’t.
“If she runs, you will not?” he asked incredulously.
“Of course not. Why would I?” replied Newsom.
“I wouldn’t do that to her, I wouldn’t do that to you, I wouldn’t waste everyone’s time. Who needs that?”
Tapper came back with the obvious follow-up: “What do you mean? That doesn’t even make sense to me.”
The Golden State executive submitted that he and Harris would cannibalize each other, clearing the path for another candidate . . . before undermining his entire point by agreeing that the 2024 Democratic nominee already had her shot.
“That’d be the case you’d make — pretty good one, actually. You know, that’s objectively true,” he posited.
It didn’t take long for the mask to slip, did it?
This whole backhanded, too-clever-by-half tribute to a two-time loser betrayed both Newsom’s lackluster political instincts and his fatal flaw as candidate.
Former Vice President Kamala Harris attends the National Action Network (NAN) annual convention in New York City on Thursday, April 9, 2026. Getty Images In the unlikely case Newsom meant what he said and Harris does think the third time’s a charm, he’s boxed himself in.
This is a man who’s been itching to run for president since the womb, and he’s never going to have a better chance than he will this coming cycle.
With his term in Sacramento coming to a close, Newsom will never be more recognizable than he is today.
If he sits this one out, he’ll have to wait another six to 10 years before making his move — by which time he’ll be not just old news, but ancient history.
Worse still, if he has every intention of running and Harris does too, he’s already compromised the integrity of his campaign.
Gavin Newsom and CNN’s Jake Tapper go fishing on Sept. 14, 2026, as he told Tapper he won’t run for president if Kamala Harris runs in 2028. CNN There’s the small matter of him going back on his word after having been quite adamant during his talk with Tapper.
Then there’s the massive matter of him suggesting that it’s Kamala’s turn (again) and preemptively painting himself as the aggressor should he later decide that it’s his.
Remember how Nikki Haley’s 2021 vow that she would never challenge Donald Trump for the Republican nomination worked out for her?
It proved impossible to reconcile her expression of respect for her old boss with her harsh criticism of him on the trail, and it allowed Trump’s allies to paint her as a cynical political creature.
The Harris campaign will inevitably carpet-bomb the airwaves with his pseudo-endorsement of her.
And even if Harris sits this one out, Newsom has now armed his other would-be opponents with enough ammunition to tank him.
The only good reason anyone can have for throwing a hat in this particular ring is a firm, unshakable belief that he or she is the best person for the job.
Already, Newsom has implicitly acknowledged that his calculation is different.
He’ll run if it’s convenient — and running against Harris would be just too much of a hassle.
How’s that framing going to stack up against more energetic and authentic Democrats like Jon Ossoff and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez?
Worst of all, though, this episode has once again shone a spotlight on Newsom’s greatest weakness: his naked ambition and shameless efforts to satiate it.
His comments to Tapper were meant to convey humility and selflessness yet had the exact opposite effect.
Heck, he couldn’t even keep up the act for more than a half-minute.
Newsom will say whatever he deems politically expedient at any given moment in time.
That’s why he’s managed to undergo several drastic personality changes — from the bridge-building podcaster, to the Twitter-trolling firebrand, to this meek new “Aw, shucks” huckster — in the span of just 18 months.
Time and time again, Newsom’s opportunism clouds his instincts.
And reminds Americans why he doesn’t deserve that which he seeks.
