Newsom Finally Builds a Bridge—to MAGA

America needs bipartisan discourse, not patriotic cosplay

My apple trees will never get across
And eat the cones under his pines, I tell him.
He only says, ‘Good fences make good neighbors.’
Spring is the mischief in me, and I wonder
If I could put a notion in his head.

—Robert Frost, “Mending Wall”

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Earlier this week, I wrote the following Note:

California Gov. Gavin Newsom recently sat down with conservative pundit Charlie Kirk and said he opposes trans individuals in girls sports, opposes “Latinx,” said BLM is corrupt, and said the Defund movement is insane.

Whatever you think of his stewardship of the great state of California, a centrist Newsom could be a formidable player on the 2028 stage, and the only path forward for Dems at this point probably is a figure like him. They’re too blind and too stubborn as a group. But a personality can maybe break through.

Let me be clear, I am no great fan of Newsom’s governorship. Despite allocating billions to address homelessness, the crisis has worsened under his leadership and California now has nearly 30% of the nation’s homeless population, with once-great cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco struggling to deal with encampments.

Additionally, California has seen rising concerns over property crime, organized retail theft, and drug-related issues—and yet Newsom responded by supporting Proposition 47, which reclassified some felonies as misdemeanors, making it even harder than it already is to deter repeat offenders and emboldening criminals.

This has had the ancillary effect of bruising the economy by producing an exodus of people and companies.

Finally, California remains one of the most tax-heavy and regulation-burdened states in the country—in terms of per capita individual income tax collection, nowhere else in the nation outranks the Golden State—and this is another factor that has driven businesses out—and into the arms of lower-tax states like Texas and Florida. Examples include Hewlett-Packard, Oracle, and Tesla.

So please, don’t come at me with comments about what a terrible governor Newsom is when I am clearly not arguing that he is a good one. But as I recently argued regarding The New York Times, few things are wholly bad or good. Reality just isn’t that simple, I’m afraid, and Newsom is doing a few thing right that—dare I say it—give me hope for the future of the Democratic Party.

Newsom is showing that some top-contender Dems realize their party lost the plot on the trans issue and that the Trump ad harping on former Vice President Kamala Harris’ unhinged position on the issue cost her dearly. So they’re not as blind to their own flaws as they may seem when you see them blaming Trump’s victory on racism.

Moreover, Newsom madę his comments on the podcast of Charlie Kirk, co-founder of the MAGA youth group Turning Point USA. This is significant because formerly, you’d except the left to complain about platforming someone like Kirk, and certainly not to go on his show.

But this indicates a willingness to engage the right in open discourse, and not only did Newsom appear but, as the British journalist Justin Webb noted this week, he also took a moment to pal around with Kirk and even talked about how his teenage son was excited by the idea of them meeting.

This is the way.

Whatever one thinks of Newsom as a potential president, or his stewardship of California, it must be said that it’s a good thing to see a leading Democratic leader walk away from trans insanity and toward civil engagement with MAGA pundits.

Even if he’s doing this in a purely cynical manner, as he most certainly is, it still proves awareness of the fact that cutting out the cancer of woke ideology and reaching across the aisle—as opposed to condemning Trump supporters as fascists—is a more effective strategy than, say, protesting Orange Hitler by wearing pink shirts.

Who’s to say whether this approach will catch on. But America needs more of this. Not only does it lead to more lasting policies, but it encourages problem-solving over partisan posturing. We have some pressing national challenges that require broad coalitions, and all-cap preaching full-send ideologies while hating the hell of each other might be fun, but that dog won’t hunt.

We have to be honest about the fact that both parties bring something to the table, and we need both to take a long walk away from clown world politics.