California Gov. Gavin Newsom recently had one of the weirder interviews of the month so far when he had a chat with CNN's Jake Tapper while the two were supposedly fly fishing. During the embarrassingly staged interview, Tapper let Newsom know that California's response during COVID was being used as a cudgel against the governor who now wants to run for president.
This didn't look phony in the least:
Newsom tells @jaketapper he won’t run in 2028 if Kamala Harris runs. pic.twitter.com/auDjNdBlyr
— Alex Thompson (@AlexThomp) September 14, 2026
Even the fish were laughing and rolling their eyes.
Newsom also listed some regrets about his "leadership" during COVID times.
Gov. Gavin Newsom opened up about some of his regrets during California’s COVID crackdowns. https://t.co/4O9p6lDu6k pic.twitter.com/u2dDdEmRce
— California Post (@californiapost) September 16, 2026
Naturally Newsom didn't accept personal responsibility for some of the insane mandates. You'll notice that suddenly it became a "we" problem.
Newsom: “The idea that we closed beaches was insane, in hindsight.” https://t.co/ny7gaSxG1N
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) September 18, 2026
In hindsight? No, they were insane at the time and everybody knew it, even Newsom.
The DOJ's Harmeet Dhillon reminded everybody why:
Remember when I sued you in both state and federal court to open the beaches of Orange County that you maliciously closed, and you lifted the order so as to moot our cases before the hearings? You knew it back then too, Governor. https://t.co/P6H5Mt6oKE
— Harmeet K. Dhillon (@HarmeetKDhillon) September 18, 2026
Every crazy mandate that came down was a power flex from Newsom, but now it's a "we" problem? No.
Uh, it was NOT only insane in hindsight!!! It was also insane in the moment!!
— John Ziegler (@Zigmanfreud) September 18, 2026
Also, it wasn’t “we”! It was “I”!
😡
Actually, closing beaches was far from the most insane thing Newsom approved of at the time.
Which means Gavin Newsom thought this was perfectly reasonable at some point. pic.twitter.com/XD304xScee
— Kevin Dalton (@TheKevinDalton) September 18, 2026
He has the skateparks filled with sand so no one could use them. pic.twitter.com/VatlYopCZb
— Tired of being politically correct (@USBornNRaised) September 18, 2026
That just oozes "follow the science"!
Gavin did this, peak insanity and tyranny pic.twitter.com/oscSyBlZZt
— Mr Scarlet (@MisterScarlett) September 18, 2026
No, it wasn't just insane "in hindsight"
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) September 18, 2026
If you were EVER on board with this, you are unfit to hold any office https://t.co/VdmRuU4wbP pic.twitter.com/G6VkHy5jsi
Ahead of his run for the Democrat nomination in 2028, Newsom's already trying to distance himself from what his "leadership" brought to California like he's Abdul El-Sayed and his record is Hasan Piker.
