Full transcript: POLITICO's Chris Cadelago interviews California Gov. Gavin Newsom

Welcome to POLITICO California: Golden State of Politics. Please welcome POLITICO's Executive Vice President, professional subscriptions, Rachel Loeffler. 

Rachel Loeffler: Hello Sacramento. I am thrilled to welcome you here tonight. My name is Rachel Loeffler. I am the executive vice president of POLITICO's Professional Business. I'm delighted and I'm energized to see you here at our event, which is really a reflection of our interest in our commitment to and our perspective on California. When we put on an event like this, we mean business. We are making a considerable and strategic investment in California for multiple reasons. First, as you know, California has a dynamism all its own. We believe that there's an opportunity to cover the politics and policy of California for Californians, whether it's education, energy, infrastructure, housing. This is the fifth largest economy on the planet and there is a story in this state for this state and second, California, particularly Sacramento sets the stage for many of the conversations that are to be had nationally and internationally. California is the connective tissue, the starting point and ending point and everything in between. So I hope you have a wonderful night tonight celebrating with us and engaging in a rich program. To kick us off, I want to invite to the stage the original heart and soul of POLITICO, Founding Editor and now Global Editor in Chief John Harris. Thanks.

John Harris: Thank you Rachel, and thanks to everybody for coming out. We really appreciate it. This is a very special moment for POLITICO journalists and really for the whole publication for all of us want you to understand this expansion in California that we're celebrating tonight is really an important event in really one of the most important events in POLITICO history. Time marches on in our little startup is now 17 years old and we're very proud of it. We're one of the, if I may, one of the only media startups of the last generation to reach maturity in a position of enduring influence and profitability. So we worked hard at it, had a lot of fun and it's been a success and we're quite proud of that. To understand why this is so important for us, I think you have to understand a little bit about our history.

So I'm going to give you a quick history lesson with maybe five seconds per year for the 17 years. We began at POLITICO in 2007 with two ideas mind. The first was that journalism is really important. We really believe in it and its future mattered. We didn't want to be a part of that group of journalists that was looking backward to some golden age. We wanted to look forward, we wanted to embrace change plunge into the digital revolution and answer the question, what's next for media? The second thing we believed was that the future of the kind of journalism we wanted to practice meant we would specialize. We cover politics and policy wherever the POLITICO flag flies, that's what we do. We don't have sports, we don't have weather, we don't have movie reviews.

In the early days, we proved pretty quickly that we could make this model work in Washington covering Congress, covering the White House, covering politics. It really was for political junkies, but we had more things we wanted to do. We kept answering that question, what's next? One of the things we wanted to do was to cover policy in a really sophisticated way and we set about under the POLITICO Pro model of building what's now the largest policy newsroom in Washington. If I could add also thanks to a recent purchase acquisition we made of e and e news covering energy and environment. We're now the largest publication in the world covering energy and climate. So we think that's really important around the world, but especially here in California, we kept asking that question, what's next? One of the things we did was we looked to Europe where we built a large newsroom in Brussels and also in some of the surrounding capitals covering the European Union and the big policy issues there in the way that one thing leads to another, our partner there is actually now the full owner of POLITICO.

A year or so ago we had a new owner, Axel Springer, who's bought us with some very clear ambitions. They wanted to double the size of this publication, double in reach, double in impact, double in value. So with a new management team, new ownership and all kinds of new possibilities. Before us, we once again asked this question, what's next? And every piece of research that we carried out pointed right here to California, right here to Sacramento. We were hearing it everywhere. People wanted both people in California where we already had a fairly substantial presence, but around the world in Washington, in other global capitals saying we want more out of California, more news, more understanding of what happens here and how it echoes around the world. So we felt very confident that we have a winner. That's what we are building and it's what we're celebrating tonight. California is where we're planting that flag on the what's next question. You should know if that in our minds California, Sacramento is not a state capital, it's a world capital and we're going to cover it like that with we've got dozens of journalists and business professionals who are making Sacramento their home and also in other key parts of the state. Governor Newsom is here. I'm not sure if he can hear this. The two words I have for him is your welcome.

He hasn't actually thanked me for anything, but that is a technicality. I do assume that he's very grateful that POLITICO is here. We're helping with his employment numbers, we're helping grow the tax base. We're trying to make his job easier in every way and probably in some ways I imagine that we'll make it harder also, and if I might just turn it over to my colleague, he's the California Bureau chief Chris Cadelago. He's a fantastic reporter. He is a POLITICO natural. He's known to many of you. He's going to be interviewing Governor Newsom. Now Chris has got really only one job and that is to make Governor Newsom in the course of this conversation over the next half hour or so, he's got to make news. So let's see if he can pull it off.

Please welcome POLITICO's California Bureau Chief Chris Cadelago and Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Gavin Newsom: We'll switch it up. We'll switch it up.

Chris Cadelago: That was on me.

Newsom: That was on you. So the only two things I heard is what was that world capital, not just the state capital. I like that, but I'm not dumb enough to fall into a trap of thanking John and POLITICO. I already could see the headlines on that. I will regret it. I will regret it. I know the media, I know your job. I respect it.

Cadelago: So thanks to John, thanks to you for being here, especially on such short notice. We had a feeling Arnold would flake.

Newsom: Oh, what the hell is that? I thought we talked about this for six months. I mean, yeah, Jesus.

Cadelago: So let's get into it. I want to start off with a couple really big issues in the state, housing and homelessness.

Newsom: Okay

Cadelago: So prominent Silicon Valley investors, some of these folks who you know pretty well have bought up huge plots of land in Solano County. They want to build a city there. What do you think of their plan?

Newsom: I don't know enough about it. I'm meeting them next week or I'm meeting one of their representatives next week because I’m as curious as anybody else.

Cadelago: Which one?

Newsom: I don't know, someone they've hired, someone whose name is not familiar, but I am familiar with the project only in the intrigue that was related to it and the fact that all of us were being asked over the course of the last few months what's going on. And I watched that intrigue turn into, I was a little, I have to be careful here. Because I don't want to make news tonight. But it went down. It was interesting to me how quickly it went down the China track and that's a deeper point and conversation we can have perhaps for another day because I don't know how much time we have, but it's a point of consideration and caution for all of us in the world we're living in, how quick we are to ascribe motives, motivations, and frame and that was felt across the spectrum. I’m not, that's not an indictment of those that walked down that path. It's not. In many ways we were led down that path with the inquiries that were coming. But it is interesting. That being said, the project obviously is interesting in terms of its scale and scope and obviously they're going to need the state to be supportive in one way, shape or form. And I'll be candid with you, they start a little behind in my book because of the fact that they led so much intrigue and so many questions. So there's a lot more doubt now and a lot less trust. And as a consequence of that, folks are asking me what the hell is going on? And the fact that you asked that as a first question only reinforces their strategy was flawed.

Cadelago: Have they lost some of your trust?

Newsom: No, I'm just saying broadly the people that are calling me saying what's going on and the fact is I'm seeking first now to understand before I'm understood, but in the context of the community, that's pretty clear.

Cadelago: Did they give you a heads up?

Newsom: No, I just I read about it.

Cadelago: After it was already announced?

Newsom: I was told about five minutes before my phone lit up that there was an article about to post and I was immediately intrigued. They said, you'll be more intrigued after you see it.

Cadelago: But is this hubris you think or strategy?

Newsom: No, we have so much to cover. Honestly, that's for you – you're asking the wrong question. I am quite seriously telling you. I don't even know much about the project.

Cadelago: Got it.

Newsom: Except which I've read and what it's not apparently, which apparently it's not a strategy by the Chinese to invest ungodly amounts of money near the United States Air Force base for political intrigue. Apparently it appears not to be that.

Cadelago: So we can move on.

Newsom: Yeah.

Cadelago: You recently blasted a judge for preventing –

Newsom: Which one? There were a number

Cadelago: City officials from clearing these encampments, these homeless encampments.

Newsom: It's out of control.

Cadelago: People in the state do want to see you do more.

Newsom: Absolutely. I want to see us do more.

Cadelago: What are you going to do next on that? What's the next step besides calling them out?

Newsom: Well today, what's the next step? $15.3 billion. When I got here four years ago, there was no homeless strategy, no homeless plan. State of California was nowhere to be involved on the issue of homelessness. Period, fullstop. People don't know that. When I was mayor of San Francisco, I never even considered calling Arnold Schwartzenegger, our previous guest, or even Gray Davis to get help when I was mayor of San Francisco, it was the responsibility of the city and counties. When we got up here, that radically changed. The governor, Governor Brown, to his credit, put half a billion dollars up. I think it was part of a deal with the big 13 mayors and a May revise conversation to get out of jail, so to speak, to get the budget done. And he put up half a billion dollars. That was it, $15.3 billion. Now we have strategies, plans. I rejected one of the plans. We're holding folks accountable. We have strategies for short-term. We have strategies, medium and long-term. We have strategies that include dealing with what's happening on the streets and sidewalks. Let me be specific. Today we made a little bit of news, not a lot, 81 million reasons why I'm pleased. Part of the $750 million of encampment grants that we're bringing out to cities and counties. When I started not a dollar for encampment resolution. A few years ago with the Legislature's support they're here, 50 million oversubscribed, 750 now 81 million went out today, 2,600 people that are part of the resolution. It's not kicking out people, it's not just removing the encampments, it's resolving the underlying conditions. That's one of many strategies. Accountability though, at the end of the day is the call of the day. State visions realized at the local level. I've said it a million times, localism is determinative. As a former mayor, I intimately understand that. We put out the resources. expectation, we have six performance measures, so we have baseline expectations. We bonus performance, 18% of the billion dollars a year we set aside has a bonus component to actually meeting those performance measures. And we take very seriously the results. It's been a flywheel for me the last few years, organizing a framework, an engagement and a construct, and now we want to see results. But one of the principle, Chris, I know time's limited, but one of the principle issues has been the courts. And most folks don't know this. This is not an excuse. This is not us throwing up our hands. I'll take a backseat to no one in taking responsibility and accountability. I was the one who walked right into this saying, a governor needs to own this issue.

Cadelago: So what do you do about these judges?

Newsom: The challenge is the judges are using a perverse interpretation of Boise and this Granite Pass decision, Boise in particular, and it's not the version of any, I think any lay person, and I think they've gone too far so far that even up in Sacramento, we weren't able to clean up encampments this summer.

We had an extended judgment against that, San Francisco. You can't clean up the encampments. They said just don't touch it. Now imagine being elected official where folks say, clean 'em up and you're saying I can't do it. They say, well now he's just blaming the courts. Put yourself in the position of local elected officials – that needed to be called out. And by the way, it's not the first time I've done that. It may be the first time people paid attention, but I was down there personally cleaning up encampments down there off of 80 right there. When coming into San Francisco, I was out there in three major encampments. I couldn't clean up the fourth with my staff right there at the Berkeley and Oakland exits. We couldn't clean up the fourth because a federal judge stopped us. And that was the first indication for me. This was a few years ago that this was a serious issue and now it's unacceptable and it is a major, major issue. People's lives are at risk.

Cadelago: So can you get involved in these cases?

Newsom: Yes, I can. We're going to file an amicus brief. I've had it. We're going to intervene and I hope this goes to the Supreme Court, and that's a hell of a statement for a progressive Democrat out of California to say, but it's just gone too far. People's lives are at risk. It's unacceptable what's happening on the streets and sidewalks, compassion's not stepping over people on the streets, compassion's not just waiting for someone to die.

Cadelago: Do you see this?

Newsom: This is but no, I'm serious about this. This has gone too far and we're now complicit all of us at all levels of government and all branches of government as well.

Cadelago: When you say all, do you mean Democrats?

Newsom: We, No. All of us. society becomes how we behave. It's not a partisan issue. What is a partisan issue is with all due respect, a lot of my Republican friends in the Legislature that offer scant strategies and solutions, but point fingers. But what is not partisan is the collective responsibility. But as governor, tag I’m it, and members of Legislature and all 476 plus jurisdictions and 58 counties that have a role to play all of us in society that have a responsibility to do more and be better in this space.

Cadelago: The Hollywood strikes, big issue here big, I mean it's gone on now for months.

Newsom: Internationally

Cadelago: Fights impacting the state economy

Newsom: Been consistently meeting with both sides. We're trying to do our best to try to understand the issues.

Cadelago: Is it time for you to really proactively

Newsom: Well we have, we’ve been, I know Mayor Bass would express the same. We've been trying to find, look, one thing I understand about negotiations is there's always negotiations that are going on. And I'm not just referring to SAG and WGA, I'm talking about this profession. We just thank you to members of the Legislature that are voting on a number of contracts we just closed. There's a lot of humility in this space around differences of opinion. I think we have one remaining open contract that we're working on. So I understand how stubborn these things are, but I also have a little experience as a former mayor, as now governor, in terms of the ebbs and flows. And you start to appreciate when the time is right and when people are actually ready to make a deal.

Cadelago: Are we coming up on that?

Newsom: For the last few months people have not been at that place. I feel now, based on the conversations I've been having the last few weeks, including a number of them just last week in Los Angeles and many conversations, one off with many folks that we're getting closer that said, I imagine someone reading this and getting a call from you about, well, the governor said we're getting closer, may reject that out of hand. So please offer that as a follow-up and an acknowledgement because I'm deeply mindful that we are not where we need to be and that gap still remains.

Cadelago: So they may not actually be getting closer?

Newsom: No, I think people want, look, it's in everyone's – Every negotiation begins as a period of time where patience is the call of the day and every one of these ends. And so at a certain point we will land this plane. I don't have the tools and leverage that we do as it relates to the role and responsibility as governor. It doesn't mean, again, I am abdicating being responsible for everything, including your next dental appointment. I understand that, but I think we’re at least making sure that we have the right rates and reimbursements. But, you get the gist.

Cadelago: I was going to ask you folks here in Sacramento, folks across the state have pulled this legislation into the, you know, they put it in the context of this strike. It's a bill to give, provide unemployment insurance to striking -

Newsom: Oh, the UI -

Cadelago: Striking workers. Is that something you, I mean you commented a little. Is that something you'd veto?

Newsom: Yeah, look, and we can go through, I think there's a thousand of them. And I'll say the same thing. Back to my frame, seek first to understand then to be understood. I haven't read all these bills and they're just literally landing in real time.

Cadelago: But you're aware of that one?

Newsom: Real time. Broadly. But I haven't read it. And what do I mean by that? I haven't read it because I've learned the lesson. I think there's a bill on psychedelics or something that's radically changed.

Cadelago: Yes. Are you pro?

Newsom: Exactly. But I mean it's radically changed. It's now it's phased in over X number of years. It's now more limited than the one that I was reading about just a week or two ago. But I will say one thing I am not naive about, and let's excuse, sort of compartmentalize the bill. What I am very aware of is the debt that we have accrued for the UI fund, which is $18.2 billion as we speak. But I'm also aware of a report that our department put out, the EDD department that said it looks to be, and this surprised me and it should surprise you, and this is why I am highlighting, that despite what we enjoyed and this country's enjoying near historically low on employment, we're seeing rising wages. And as a consequence of the rising wages, the UI fund is growing the deficit. It's growing. And the deficit in that EDD report showed $20.3 billion in just the next few months, 2025. So it's growing and I think one has to be cautious about that before you enter in a conversation about expanding its utilization.

Cadelago: This setup doesn't make it sound like that's all

Newsom: That’s all I’ll say on it, I think it's just an important point to highlight. And it's also not

Cadelago: Sounds like a veto message.

Newsom: I don't know. Well, let's get to all your other bills and then we go on.

Cadelago: No, I won't make it bill-o-rama, but the psychedelics?

Newsom: Oh yeah. But however, you have a bill on your desk about psychedelics by the way. I will say, and maybe if you do need a little color on these things

Cadelago: Always

Newsom: [INAUD] on the UI on psychedelics. Look, I've always, you've seen my record going back the time I was a county supervisor doing mobile methadone vans where I was co-sponsoring needle exchange legislation back to, this is 20, 30 years ago. I've long been out on disparities as it relates to race-based disparities and crack cocaine and powder cocaine. I led the effort on reforming our marijuana laws as it relates to cannabis and addressing that as a social and economic justice issue, which I'm very proud of.

Cadelago: This guy was there

Newsom: And a lot of issues with that we've got to work to and attend to. And no one's naive about that. So I've been on that spectrum of things. I also have four young kids and I'm also mindful of the anxiety and stress that's out there as well. And that's a new spectrum of some respects, meaning I'm a relatively new father of four. A teenage daughter just turned 13 and a young son just turned seven. And so I see things through a prism very differently. Social media on the issues that are now very personal to I know many of you as parents as well

Cadelago: Are these new considerations since the blue ribbon task force and helping legalize

Newsom: No. No regrets that blue ribbon task force I thought was a masterclass in terms of trying to be objective and fair. We brought law enforcement to the table. We set out a tone and tenor of that engagement. We created a framework of protections for children. We actually set aside money for law enforcement. We've actually seen the enforcement increase. That's been a stubborn issue. Let me recognize that and more it's being done in that space. And as it relates to just the issue on the psychedelics, I'm also deeply mindful. I have a lot of friends that are vets and the profound and consequential nature of how these drugs have been used to address PTSD. And so that is what I will bring into a review of this bill. All of those considerations.

Cadelago: No [INAUD]

Newsom: Like the prior

Cadelago: The prior sounded, the prior sounded a little more

Newsom: Did it?

Cadelago: Well, decided.

Newsom: All right, I don't know.

Cadelago: So insurance, huge issue. They're leaving the state, home insurance.

Newsom: Home insurance. I was saying I'm very proud. We're the first states in US history. This should be on the headlines. It should be headlines. First state in US history that's fully implementing universal health care regardless of preexisting conditions, ability to pay and regardless of immigration status, there's no other jurisdiction in the country that can [INAUD].

Harris: That's why I'm happy POLITICO's on the West Coast.

Cadelago: Insurance.

Newsom: So you're talking about property insurance

Cadelago: The legislature did not get the deal done.

Newsom: Yeah, we've been working on this for some time working with legislative leaders.

Cadelago: What’s your next step?

Newsom: This is a serious issue. This is not a big issue. This is a serious, this is not even a yellow flag issue. This is a waving red flag issue. Just ask Governor DeSantis where he’s got rates three times the national average. He saw 42 percent increase last year in rates based on a report that came out today averaging as much as $6,000. The national rates went up about 11 percent last year averaging about 1,700. Imagine being in his shoes. Imagine being in the shoes of Governor Polis where they're looking to do a state-run plan. Obviously what's happening in Louisiana, it's not unique. This question to us, this is by the way, America's coming attraction in terms of impacts of climate and the impacts as it relates to constraints and competition within the industry. So I take this very seriously. We've been watching this, working with members of the Legislature. Today, I believe I heard I haven't read a few hours ago, the Speaker put out a formal statement that that legislative package died.

Cadelago: They're doing some hearings, but hearings are not. I mean you have the power, you can call a special session.

Newsom: We can do a lot of things and I'm very mindful.

Cadelago: You can do an executive order.

Newsom: We can do all of that. And I can assure you two things: that I didn't wait around for the Legislature and I don't mean that members of the Legislature, please don't take that wrong. Because I value the input and the engagement, not just the input of the output. And I appreciated you valued our input as it related to these negotiations and unfortunately fell short. And I say unfortunately because time is of the essence in the spirit of your question, but months for months now, I've had a work group within our administration looking at this issue. And so we've gamed out some different strategies. I will not underscore not capital N-O-T, be making any news with love and respect tonight on the topic except to reinforce the imperative to move and to move relatively quickly.

Cadelago: We're talking weeks.

Newsom: Just relatively quickly. And for those of you rolling your eyes, just put in perspective. I mean this is a fast moving, not slow moving issue. People are being dropped every single day. People cannot get insurance. I know this intimately. As someone who owns a home that's on the fair plan. I understand intimately the issue because it's brought to my attention almost on a daily basis. It's not just the cost. And of course we have caps on costs that are legendary in the industry, but it's also simple access. And you saw State Farm as one of the many examples that announced just Q1 of this year more losses than the entire 2022 calendar year. So this is fast moving and as a consequence, in the spirit of your question, we need to move relatively quickly.

Cadelago: Can we do some semi rapid fire political questions?

Newsom: This is POLITICO, right?

Cadelago: Yes. Let's move on from all this policy.

Newsom: Yeah, enough. Oh wait. Well I actually, I’m comfortable in policy. I prefer it.

Cadelago: If we have time the last one I'm saving is climate because I know you probably want to talk about that.

Newsom: You know you got to put [INUAD] 60 minutes that’s six there..

Cadelago: Yeah, there's 10 more on this too.

Newsom: Oh geez, I just

Cadelago: No, no, no. They shorted us.

Newsom: These guys are like, why didn’t you give me two drinks?

Cadelago: So, if Barbara Lee were. Yeah we should. If Barbara Lee were here, right? What would you tell her, about

Newsom: It's a hypothetical on top of hypothetical.

Cadelago: Yeah.

Newsom: And if we want to engage in hypotheticals on top of hypotheticals, I've said what I'll say on the topic and I am not going to say anything beyond that. I’ve said what I've said on the topic.

Cadelago: You don’t want to get into a back and forth?

Newsom: I have enormous respect for her, enormous respect for you as voters. Enormous respect for this process. This is a hypothetical on top of a hypothetical.

Cadelago: I mean you hope it doesn't happen.

Newsom: We're down to five minutes and eight seconds.

Cadelago: Do you think Kevin McCarthy –

Newsom: Well, I'm going to add 20 minutes back. I actually have a lot of time. I didn’t realize.

Cadelago: Do you think he actually wants to do impeachment?

Newsom: Well

Cadelago: Himself deep down, does he want to do it?

Newsom: My Kevin will do what he needs to do or he is told to do.

Cadelago: Told by who?

Newsom: My Kevin will do what he needs to do or is told to do. And what's a hell of a thing? And I know this hasn't gotten any attention. One day someone is going to be out of stories and intrigue and they're going to do a little bit of just an interesting ven map of Nancy Pelosi's district and Kevin McCarthy's district because I think it's just a case study in this moment. The Speaker of the House Representative, the former Speaker both from California, another reason. Welcome to California. Thank you. We've had an inferiority complex despite having two Speakers back to back from our state. But it's an interesting fact. The murder capital of California is Kevin McCarthy's district. It's the murder capital of California consistently year in, year out. I just think that's interesting. Two and a half times the murder rate of Nancy Pelosi’s San Francisco, and you'll Politifact that, and I'll be able to back that up. They have 63% higher uninsured rate than the city of San Francisco. To the extent you care about families and their health and 51% higher child poverty rates, you would think Kevin McCarthy will be focused on those issues as a guy who cares deeply about life that he would care to address those issues as opposed to completely flip on his own [INAUD] he made 11 years ago. 11 days. There was emphasis on that and intention. It was just 11 days ago where he said, absolutely this needs to go to a floor vote. I mean, give me a break. This is student government.

Cadelago: Can we talk about DeSantis? National polls he's down.

Newsom: Well, you really want to,

Cadelago: Almost 40 points.

Newsom: I'm going to take a deep breath.

Cadelago: Losing in all of these early states.

Newsom: Well, he's belly flopped.

Cadelago: Is he done?

Newsom: He's belly flopped.

Cadelago: But is he done?

Newsom: He's belly-flopped.

Cadelago: His campaign over?

Newsom: Well, he cares more about, I remember Ronald Reagan said in an infamous op-ed during the Briggs Initiative, and I hope they looked this guy up, Reagan, before they go down to the Reagan library on the 27th, Republicans that will be debating down there, they should look him up and learn about him. He said in an op-ed about the Briggs Initiative in his opposition to the Briggs Initiative he said, you can't catch gay like you can measles. That was Ronald Reagan who said that. So you're talking about DeSantis, the Don't Say Gay Governor.

Cadelago: But what happened to his presidential campaign?

Newsom: Well, I'm walking down that path. I just mentioned that he has bankruptcies, lawsuits, complete disaster on his hands as it relates to homeowners insurance. And he thought it was more important to do a gag rule on private corporations that wanted to talk about diversity, equity, and inclusion. Private corporations. He thought it was more important to threaten the Special Olympians with $27 million fines than focus on that issue. He thought it was more important to threaten librarians by criminalizing them. Ban books, ban speech, threatening teachers thought it was more important to attack New College because somehow, I guess higher education is an establishment plot. He has only himself to blame that he prioritized those issues over the issues that truly matter to the American people.

Cadelago: So that cost him the Republican

Newsom: I think that expresses my point of view and a little bit of why I began the conversation by saying he's belly flopped.

Cadelago: Debate's still on?

Newsom: We'll see, I hope so. That will not be my opening statement.

Cadelago: You believe President Biden will be the, you believe President Biden will be the Democratic nominee in 2024?

Newsom: I know he will be. Of course he will be.

Cadelago: So in 2028, is it time for a woman president?

Newsom: I hope. Absolutely. I'm for the most qualified, so presumably that's a woman. Yeah. I mean you're talking to the wrong guy. I am heading home, and my wife's entire career has been on the mis- and underrepresentation of women and girls and how women rule and women pretty much dominate in every critical category in American [INAUD] in the American mind. And that's part of the crisis of masculinity and all the issues that have come to the fore and been politicized over the last few years that also go into this whole moment in time that we're living in as it relates to the toxicity of our politics as well. And so there's an undercurrent to that, an undercurrent to that. And it's a point of pride to be able to say, I hope so, but we'll see. But again, I'm for the most qualified, so I assume so.

Cadelago: So two more?

Newsom: I got all the time in the world.

Cadelago: Okay. I do want to go back to climate. I know I said we were over policy, but I do, you've really gone through the list of what the state has done. I mean, I feel like a lot of us have probably internalized it at this point. Maybe not everybody in the public, but what I'm curious about, I mean you had this big package last year is how do you, what are the plans to keep that momentum going? Like what's next?

Newsom: I mean, look, and let me circle back and I appreciate, John. I mean this. John, thank you for coming out. I mean, it's always been an interesting, there is a bit of an inferiority complex we have out here in the west coast and everything west of the Mississippi because we have pride ourselves. The future happens here first, we’re America's coming attraction. We're the most diverse state in the world's most diverse democracy. We're a universal state. We practice pluralism. That's a word that's often not even used in our body politic anymore. We're a majority minority state. 27% of the state's foreign born; nationwide is 13.7%. Maybe we know a thing or two about what's going on in terms of the dimensionality of our politics today. We also are on the vanguard and leading cutting edge as it relates not just to new ideas and policy and innovation and entrepreneurial spirit, but also public policy, good and bad. When I talk about America's coming attraction, we understand these things and it goes to the context of the climate. We've understood this in our core. There's no Republican, no Democratic thermometer. You don't believe in science. You believe in your own eyes. The lived experiences, places, lifestyles, traditions being destroyed, ask the folks there at Grizzly Flats or Greenville, not just in Paradise. Towns almost wiped off the map. So we'd moved past the old binaries on this. If you had Governor Schwarzenegger here, he'd be talking about how proud, perhaps more than any other issue at his Cap and Trade Bill that he's associated with and proud to be in his post gubernatorial ship. Happened here first of course, Ronald Reagan, CARB 1967. Tailpipe emissions happened here first, a guy named Nixon, another Republican that the Republican party should look up. The Clean Air Act, Endangered Species Act, the EPA. That was Richard Nixon. But we get it in the state of California. But we're responsible now to not just understand the impacts, but also to address the solutions. And there's no jurisdiction anywhere in the United States, I would argue no subnational jurisdiction anywhere on the globe doing more to change the way it produces and consumes energy and to change the way we reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and grow our economy. However, we can't do it alone. And that's why one of the things I'm looking forward to, and this is not a response to your question, but it's an extended point that many of you may not be as familiar with. The work that we've done over the course of the last few decades in California has led the nation formally, the Pacific Coast Collaborative, the US Climate Alliance of bipartisan governors, not just Democratic governors working together. And this thing called the MOU Under Two Governor Brown deserves a lot of credit working with subnationals around the globe to sign climate agreements so that we could be the tent pole, that we can address the world's anxiety around the back and forth between Trumpism and Bidenism and the stress that people have saying, can we rely on the American people on this issue? And our point is, you can rely on us in California and we play an outsize role as soon to be the fourth largest economy in the world, closing that gap every day on Germany. And that's why I'll be going to China in a few weeks to build on the work we've done in China, on climate. And I don't think there's any more essential, and that's a full loop back to that opening response. Divorce is not an option. You could talk about decoupling, you could talk about de-risking. We can adjudicate whether or not President Biden should have used the word constrain or contain or not as it relates to his press conference in Vietnam. But the importance, the imperative of maintaining a relationship on climate with China is about the fate and future of this planet. And it's too important. It's another example where California needs to lead. And I think that steady leadership matters.

Cadelago: Do you think you'll get a meeting with Xi?

Newsom: Oh, well, you'll have to ask them. I don't know. That's to be determined.

Cadelago: But you're going next month?

Newsom: Well we just signed with the province of Hanoi. We're doing sub-national work in the absence of any other leadership. So we've got a lot of work that we'll be doing out there and we've already got an amazing agenda, but we'll be heading out next month.

Cadelago: Do you have to check in with the administration, I mean you ran this by, because there's a lot going on between

Newsom: I, Look, you didn't ask me about a president that has presided over the lowest poverty rates, lowest uninsured rates, the lowest unemployment for women in 70 years, the lowest Hispanic unemployment in history, the lowest Black unemployment in history, the lowest unemployment for disabled Americans in history. Historically low unemployment that's created 13.5 million jobs, seven times more than the next or the last three Republican presidents combined who's brought in half a trillion dollars of manufacturing money, who's done more on the climate more to reduce debt, at least 116 billion reasons why I can lay claim to that for students than any previous president. This guy has been a masterclass. The work he's doing, the tri-lat he had with South Korea and Japan, I mean no other president was able to pull that off the work he was able just to accomplish at the G-20, what he's done at the G-7, how Russia has never been weaker, NATO [INAUD] stronger if you think Russia has not been weaker, considering an old rickety train. You had the South Korean dictator that had to come in and try to help save the day with I guess 1960s technology. He wants to trade with another dictator. That's how low the bar has become in Russia. All of that presided over Joe Biden. I couldn't be more proud of him. And in return, it's a long way of answering your question, you better believe I coordinated with the White House.

Cadelago: I mean you had a long list there and I know I've heard your,

Newsom: I'm just I’m filled with damn pride. And by the way

Cadelago: Why is he

Newsom: I’m filled with pride as an American, and I hope you all know this, maybe I'm a Cold War baby and that's why I get a little stressed out about our relationships around the rest of the world because I don't want to live by going under the desk. I don't want my kids living like that. I really don't. I'm very worried about what's going on in terms of the new world order. And that's why I'm very proud of the steady leadership of the Biden administration and broadly defined what Blinken’s done. Obviously [INAUD], I think has been best of class. That all being said, this President and Democratic presidents have done something I don't think we fully absorb as Americans. It's an interesting fact since the end of the Cold War in 1989, there has been 49 million jobs created in America, private sector, the private sector ingenuity created those jobs, but they have been presided over 16 years by two bushes and a Trump, 16 years by an Obama and a Clinton and two and a half, almost three years by Biden himself. It is an interesting fact. You look at the last multiple administrations, 49 million jobs. Take a wild guess how many jobs were created under Republican administrations? 1.9 million. 96% Chris of American

Cadelago: So

Newsom: No, this is important. I'm going to finish. And this is a point of pride for me and privilege because I'm an American citizen, not just a Democrat and not just a partisan. 47 million jobs since the Cold War have been created under Democratic administrations. I'm so sick and tired of having to debate about the economy with Republicans. Give me a break, give me a break. You know what the last three Republican administrations have in common? Three recessions. It's not even interesting. So with all respect to Democrats out there, time to buck up and wake up to these realities, we've never had a record to sell like this. We've also won seven out of the last elections, by popular vote we've averaged in the last four elections, 51% of the vote. I love what's happening with the Democratic party in this country. I love what's happened for the American people. And so I'm leaning in because I'm really proud of our country. I'm really proud of this President. I'm proud of our party and I'm proud of the outsized role California's played in a lot of this because we are the tentpole of the American economy.

Cadelago: But

Gavin Newsom: [INAUD]

Cadelago: All those numbers.

Newsom: All those facts.

Cadelago: All those facts, but people still aren't feeling it like that.

Newsom: That’s what campaigns are about. And we haven't even wound up. You guys are all wound up every single day about everything Vivek says and everything literally, but you're nothing but a mirror of your consistent thoughts, whatever we focus on, we find more of. So right now we're just consistently focused on all things Trump. I mean, it's exact replica of the last election. I mean it's just, it's 24/7 Trump. And you know what? I don't say that frustrated as a Democrat. I say that frustrated on behalf of that guy, DeSantis, on behalf of that guy Asa Hutchinson. I mean these guys, they're done. They're toast. I mean, the best thing could happen to DeSantis is tomorrow he packs it in and keeps his money and fights another day. But he won't do that because his consultants will convince him somehow he's got a chance. And you'll watch, you'll be writing, POLITICO will write an article. DeSantis thinks he can spin coming in fourth as a win in Iowa, not just second, which he's already began to spin as those expectation games. But my point is that is consuming everything, but so is the primary for the Republican party. And as a consequence of that, that's where our focus is on all these critiques, all this mishegoss, all this BS about inflation. Ever look at the inflation last month in the UK? It's 7.9%. I'll make it easy. 6.2% in Germany. I mean you think somehow it's Biden's inflation or Biden's deficit. I mean, and don't even get me started on percentage of GDP, our deficit went up 11.5% under Trump. It's down 6.5% under Biden, $1.7 billion down. And the new debt deal where he ran circles around that guy McCarthy down another trillion dollars and we're just winding up on debt. And so my point is the point that we're consumed and focused by the Republican critique and the Republican party, and with all due respect, the reason you went out with me on that pack, the Republican ability to create the narrative, which I've been pushing back against CRT, DEI, ESG, anything with three letters seems to be their focus. And our opportunity is to address your wise, not critique, but observation that we have to mine that gap between performance and perception. And that's what campaigns are about. But the campaign that I'm on right now is about Democrats bucking up, getting on this train, getting focused and turn the attention by getting on the offense again with a record that's second to none in our lifetime and back, this President and this administration up, let's stop finger pointing and navel gazing. And it's a point of personal pride because it scares the hell out of me to go back to where we were just a few years ago. I mean that, scares the hell out of me on behalf of my kids and my grandkids. Should scare all of you sincerely. Scares every Republican I know as well in their private moments and many of them very publicly that are running against Trump and Trumpism. This is a serious moment. And so Democrats need to take it more seriously and need to take more seriously, their responsibility to support Joe Biden in his reelection. I humbly submit.

Cadelago: Very quickly to go back, you had your list of culture war issues. There's Republicans in California, school board members really pushing on trans.

Newsom: Yeah, I mean it's, the issue perhaps is the most important issue in public education today.

Cadelago: That issue

Newsom: Yeah, not math and science and reading scores. Those are overrated. Why consume ourselves with that? I mean, it's amazing. I mean these trans kids, they want nothing more than just to live. Where's the humility and grace? The most likely outcome for these kids is suicide. I mean, has anyone done the math just at the NC two A, I watch Newsmax, I watch One American News, this thing called Fox. I watch it all the time. You know that. I've appeared on it a few times. You think it's the only damn issue in the world trans sports as an extension of the point you're making. I just thought it was interesting. I decided to look up. There must be thousands and thousands of athletes in the NC two A, trans women must be, has to be my gosh, all the focus and attention, all the airtime, all the producers saying this is the issue that we need to focus on today. The last time I checked in, and you'll update this, there were 35 trans women playing NC two A sports. And then I thought, all right, well there must just be like a hundred NC two As out there. It turns out there's 520,000. I think it was, I'm making this number up, but you can check it. I think it was 0.015%. The governor, the Republican governor of Utah said it better than one else. Never has been more fire and fury has been focused on so few. Where's the humility and grace? Imagine being a parent of these loved ones. You can be a Republican Democrat. There are plenty of Republicans out there with trans kids that just love their damn daughter or son, want them to get through life at the same time. Yes, [INAUD] is here. We talked about this on your show. I understand the issue. I got kids that are in sports. So I also understand there needs to be humility and grace on the other side as well. When a kid's not standing there on stage because they feel like someone had an advantage, an unfair advantage. We can find some balance, but we're not finding it in this discourse, not on the assault on the LGBTQ community, not on the assault every single day on these poor kids.

Cadelago: Do you think that parental notification itself is an assault on

Newsom: Parental notification, we defined that in California.

Cadelago: Yeah

Newsom: We invented that. You ever heard of the LCAP, LCFF? Want to look it up? Look up LCAP. Look up the parental advisory committees that are a requirement in the state of California. Look at the curricular requirement that is required to have parental engagement and student engagement. I think there was one of these damn school boards, I can't remember which one now. I think there's eight competing for attention. May have been, I don't know. I don't want to say. Where they were upset about some textbook that didn't even have a reference in the textbook to the person they were so offended by. A gentleman that you may, a gentleman by the way, who was made famous at the time around the same time that Ronald Reagan wrote that op-ed around you can't catch gay like measles. And I was an activist at the time who became a county supervisor. Very important lifetime of San Francisco and our state nation. He's in the California Hall of Fame right behind us named Harvey Milk. Also adorns the name of a navy ship. He got the congressional medal. I mean he's won every accolade known to man. Apparently it offended some members of the school district that he wasn't even in the textbook. He was in the supplemental materials. So they decided to put at risk all of the social studies textbooks by simply not providing them. I think that's reckless. I don't think that educates our kids, I don't think allows us to compete in a hyper connected and hyper competitive world. I think these culture wars have gone too far. At the same time, I don't criticize those poor parents out there that have been ginned up. I've met a few of these parents. I went down

Cadelago: Glendale

Newsom: To Glendale, thank you, and met with parents and teachers. It was Temecula, the school board I was referencing, but it was Glendale separate. And I met with the parents and they were told all these, I said, I totally understand why you were out there. If I were told those things, I would've been out there too. So again, back to grace and humility. People are being ginned up. And so I'm not here to criticize them, but there's a lot of misunderstanding, misrepresentation out there because people are weaponizing these grievances against vulnerable communities led by DeSantis, led by Sarah Huckabee Sanders, led by Greg Abbott. They have a zest for demonization and we need to call them out and we will full loop on this. I know everybody wants to go. I saw a few heads turn, look and see if those drinks are still being [INAUD]. But this is why California is so essential. This is why we matter. And it's why I'm really proud. I mean this despite all the hit pieces, headlines and investigative reporting, you'll do on me why it's so important to have POLITICO out here, POLITICO doing work out here. Because we do represent something to others and we punch above our weight and the values of this state matter and they sure as hell matter to me and I think they matter to the American people. And so we are, I just think this state is essential at this moment to push back against these culture wars, to push back against these folks that have one thing in common and that is their desire to other and to demean and to bully vulnerable people. And we're going to give those vulnerable communities voice.

Cadelago: Speaking of drinks, we are about to go, but one drink related question.

Newsom: Thank you to my wife.

Cadelago: One drink related question. So wine is a huge industry and you're familiar with it obviously.

Newsom: I know a thing about it.

Cadelago: Trying to get a little personal here. But is there one bottle of wine that you're saving for a very special occasion? I need a year too.

Newsom: This is where your political consultants, I think one or two may be here, are not going to like my answer. I can give an honest answer, but let me not,

Cadelago: Let's not do the,

Newsom: Let me give you the, I read that book on Applebee's after we lost one

Cadelago: Getting a politician to talk about wine

Newsom: Oh, of course. Newsom said a 1947, which was the answer to your question, of course he would say that. So I'm going to say Mondavi Coastal Chardonnay with [INAUD] no vintage. That's my political answer. And just I want to go on record with that being my political answer.

Cadelago: So no.

Newsom: And then I want to give you the guy

Cadelago: The real answer, the real answer

Newsom: I want to give you, I've got one and it's true story and I have it saved. And I got it about 20 years ago when it was a 10th of the price for the two or 300 of you that don't know this. And I can't tell you how many members of my staff go, oh, I didn't know you were a business person. Oh, I didn't know you had employees. You really did that before. I thought you just entered into politics and all of a sudden started marrying gay people. That was your thing. That's how I thought it all started. And I said, no, no, I started right out of high school and college rather with a small 13 investors, 7,500 bucks each. There was one investor that got more attention than others, but he gave 7,500 bucks to the investment. Wanted a return. One part-time employee, Pat Kelly. We built that business, small wine store into about 23 small businesses. At peak we were about a thousand employees. No longer. We sold a bunch of 'em and a number of them failed. Talk about humility, learned a lot. Restaurants, hotels, wineries.

Cadelago: How many employees do they have now?

Newsom: I don't know what the exact number. I have a blind trust. And that was a trick question.

Cadelago: I knew that was coming.

Newsom: Lemme think for a second. I'm onto you, Chris, or hundreds and hundreds that I assume, unless they've done something really dramatic. But I say that not to impress, but to impress upon you, my passion for entrepreneurialism, my passion for free enterprise. I take a backseat to no one on that. The risk takers, the people put everything out on the line, but it's also a point of pride being in the wine business and starting from scratch and growing it and having four wineries, which was the long-winded point that I've also had the opportunity and privilege to taste a few nice wines in the past and to set aside a bottle ‘47 Cheval Blanc for a special occasion.

Chris Cadelago: There it is. Thank you so much.

Gavin Newsom: Thank you, guys.