Example Image
Civitas Outlook
Topic
Politics
Published on
Mar 26, 2025
Contributors
Joel Kotkin
Photo from Office of the California Governor via Wikimedia Commons

Does Gavin Newsom Believe in Anything?

Contributors
Joel Kotkin
Joel Kotkin
Senior Research Fellow
Joel Kotkin
Summary
Tech elites are his one lodestar.
Summary
Tech elites are his one lodestar.
Listen to this article

Gavin Newsom’s new podcast reveals not only a media-savvy politico seeking more exposure to a bigger audience. It also reflects a concerted drive by the onetime self-anointed leader of the #Resistance to reinvent himself as the unique progressive breaking through to MAGA World, as evidenced by his decision to invite Right-wing firebrands like Charlie Kirk, Michael Savage, and Steve Bannon as his initial guests.

This shift away from liberal orthodoxy has shocked Newsom’s long-time progressive allies, who see it as an act of treachery. Yet if they had been paying attention to Newsom’s career — above all, his willingness to morph into whatever identity best serves his quest for power — this wouldn’t be so surprising.

Conservatives, too, will discover that Newsom isn’t a tool of the progressive Left, or a typical California progressives with “communistic” policies, as one conservative outlet described them. On the contrary, Newsom, unlike his predecessor, Jerry Brown, has been a committed, shameless sniffer of political winds throughout his career.

Continue reading at UnHerd

10:13
1x
10:13
More articles

Cut Licensing, Cut Prices, Embrace AI

Economic Dynamism
Mar 19, 2026

The Mores of Machines

Pursuit of Happiness
Mar 19, 2026
View all

Join the newsletter

Receive new publications, news, and updates from the Civitas Institute.

Sign up
More on

Politics

National Civitas Institute Poll: Americans are Anxious and Frustrated, Creating a Challenging Environment for Leaders

The poll reveals a deeply pessimistic American electorate, with a majority convinced the nation is on the wrong track.

Politics
Feb 19, 2026
Liberal Democracy Reexamined: Leo Strauss on Alexis de Tocqueville

This article explores Leo Strauss’s thoughts on Alexis de Tocqueville in his 1954 “Natural Right” course transcript.

Raúl Rodríguez
Politics
Feb 25, 2025
Long Distance Migration as a Two-Step Sorting Process: The Resettlement of Californians in Texas

Here we press the question of whether the well-documented stream of migrants relocating from California to Texas has been sufficient to alter the political complexion of the destination state.

James Gimpel, Daron Shaw
Politics
Feb 6, 2025
Who's That Knocking? A Study of the Strategic Choices Facing Large-Scale Grassroots Canvassing Efforts

Although there is a consensus that personalized forms of campaign outreach are more likely to be effective at either mobilizing or even persuading voters, there remains uncertainty about how campaigns should implement get-out-the-vote (GOTV) programs, especially at a truly expansive scale.

Grant Ferguson, James Gimpel, Mark Owens, Daron Shaw
Politics
Dec 13, 2024

The Three Whiskey Happy Hour

Steven Hayward brings you the Power Line Blog's perspective on the week's big headlines.

View all
** items
Under Trump, Skilled Immigration Is Still Working Fine

If anything, America’s appeal is growing.

Joel Kotkin
Politics
Mar 3, 2026
California’s Green Policies Destroy Blue-Collar Jobs

The problem here lies not with racism, or lack of reparations, as Newsom and “progressives” insist, but with their own policies, which devastate minority communities.

Joel Kotkin
Politics
Feb 28, 2026
There's a Perception Gap With the U.S. Economy

As we approach another election cycle, it’s worth asking: what’s real, what’s political theater, and what does it all mean if Democrats regain control of the House?

Charity-Joy Acchiardo & G. Dirk Mateer
Politics
Feb 2, 2026
California Wealth Tax Backers Ignore Proposition 13 Lessons

While the tax would be a “one-time event,” nothing would prohibit similar initiatives in the future.

Jonathan Hartley, Arthur Laffer
Politics
Jan 25, 2026

Trump’s Iran Operation Is Legal, Just, and Overdue

Politics
Mar 3, 2026
1:05

‘Big Difference’ Between Investigating a Sitting and Former President: Ex-dDeputy Assistant AG

Politics
Mar 3, 2026
1:05

Richard Reinsch Warns of Escalating Political Retaliation as Debate Turns to Conservatism, Violence, and Executive Power

Politics
Feb 23, 2026
1:05

John Yoo urges Supreme Court to ‘let democracy work’ in trans athlete case

Politics
Jan 13, 2026
1:05

Kotkin: Non-Aligned Nations Navigating a Multipolar World

Politics
Aug 19, 2025
1:05
No items found.
No items found.
Mamdani’s Audacious Estate Tax for New York

It is up to cooler heads to see that Mamdani's wild ambitions can never be converted into law.

Richard Epstein
Politics
Mar 18, 2026
Oil, War, and Peace

The deeper question about these matters is why the energy crunch had to occur at all.

Richard Epstein
Politics
Mar 12, 2026
Iran and the Laws of War

The Iran war gives the United States the opportunity to re-formulate the rules of war, not to fight the old conflicts of the twentieth century.

John Yoo
Politics
Mar 12, 2026
Yes, AI Minister

The future is already here. Albania's AI minister Diella is changing the way nations think about governance.

Philip Wallach
Politics
Mar 11, 2026
No items found.