‘Politickin’ – Gavin Newsom’s New Podcast is Quite Political

Earlier this month, iHeart Radio unveiled a new podcast with Governor Gavin Newsom, former NFL star Marshawn Lynch, and his agent Doug Hendrickson as hosts. It was supposed to come out in mid-July, but delays including the Trump assassination attempt and Biden dropping out of the presidential race pushed it back several weeks. The first few episodes have come out, and we decided to give them a listen. If you are curious, they can be found here.

So how did it all go?

Well, first of all, they said that this would be an apolitical podcast, but politics kept coming up, so there is that. Newsom can’t even keep a podcast promise. And it’s not like politics crept up naturally – they just went right into politics right off the bat.

Here’s the first few seconds of the first episode in case you really don’t want to listen to it.

Lynch:  “Hell no, Gavin, why the f— you ain’t running for president, brah?”

Newsom: “We’re going to get to that!”

To be fair, it’s a good question to ask him. Ever since the first debate, that has been a major question. And, just like every time he has been asked that, he kept avoiding the question the entire time. Lynch kept asking Newsom the question all podcast, with Hendrickson asking Newsom a different question each time, like if Biden called him before dropping out.

And it kept going on like that. Harris to the Trump assassination attempt. At one point Newsom said “Marshawn, I’ll tell you what’s going on. People are all-in now for Kamala Harris.”

Lynch also got a few on Newsom and Harris, like this fun little exchange I had to replay a few times.

Newsom: “You’ve got your own Oakland girl, Oakland through and through, Alameda County prosecutor who’s going to prosecute the case against [Trump].”

Lynch: ” I wonder if she prosecuted my daddy.”

When they got to interviewing NBA star Draymond Green, politics was finally put aside. Episode 2 also avoided politics for the most part, focusing on Lynch and Hendrickson.

Looking through Twitter and from reviews, people seem to like Lynch, who although crass, is being himself and actually seemed to make Newsom uncomfortable at times over his political views. Hendrickson seemed to be trying to keep things on track. Newsom, however, seemed out of his element.

He also didn’t answer a common question he has had over this: Why are you doing this and not focusing on being Governor and stumping for Harris? You know, his job and party duties he has. Green brought it up a few times, but generally Newsom was trying to just talk or listen. But the problem is, the podcast is eating into his Governor and Party duties. There are record devastating wildfires right now across the state. Kamala Harris needs all the help she can get on the road. Bill signing season is coming up, with a lot of bills to review. There’s a lot there to do here in California, especially between now and November.

Behind Politickin’

Politickin’ is, at it’s core, just another podcast, except with better than normally known hosts and guests. But it’s doing something else, and it is very political: It’s making Newsom look laid-back and normal. For many presidential candidates, being the type of person “you can have a beer with” is a big plus. It helped George Bush beat “robotic” Al Gore in 2000. Barack Obama famously took up some people’s offers of having a beer. Hillary Clinton’s lack of likability helped contribute to her 2016 loss. Newsom needs that ‘regular guy’ sheen, as, even with supporters in California, he comes off with an air of pretentiousness. Newsom owns a winery and dines at Michelin starred restaurants (like where he was caught going around COVID guidelines).

In a weird way, he’s taking a page from prior president’s like Reagan and Trump. Reagan was an actor for years and was known as a regular guy. Trump was known for decades before for media appearances and shows like “The Apprentice.” Newsom had a brief TV show shown locally, and that was it outside of being Mayor, Lt. Governor and Governor. He never lost that pretentiousness. And that’s the side of Politickin’ he isn’t saying. It’s an apolitical show but working for his political career. He needs to be seen as “a normal guy.” Desperately.

But, it’s not the best fit for him. It’s like 2004 where Bush was shown catching a football and Kerry was shown windsurfing and showing how far apart he was from the American people. Then he tried playing football for the cameras and totally missed it being thrown to him. That’s what this podcast is for Newsom right now. That attempt to connect more, but not hitting that mark.

A better PR move for Newsom would be to do his job for the next few years, then branch out (if he doesn’t accept a cabinet position that is). He can go on popular web shows like Hot Ones to be known more among younger people. He can go to County Fairs and eat deep fried oreos. He can go out to diners in Redding and Bakersfield and Bishop and Elk Grove to meet Californians from all over and prepare him for a national blitz. Get out of Marin, San Francisco and Wine Country for a while.

Because, honestly, that would really be the kind of politicking he would need. Not a podcast.