Charlie Kirk & Gavin Newsom Weren't The Bitter Enemies People Might Believe Them To Be

Charlie Kirk was friendly with lots of politicians. In fact, Vice President JD Vance's close friendship with Charlie Kirk was one of the reasons the former Ohio senator was tapped as President Donald Trump's 2024 running mate. But there's another, somewhat surprising, politician who was also quite close with the conservative firebrand: California Governor Gavin Newsom. This might shock some people, given that Newsom and Kirk stood on opposite sides of the political aisle, but the two men established a rapport after Kirk sat down for the debut episode of Newsom's podcast, "This is Gavin Newsom," in March 2025.

After the Turning Point USA CEO was fatally shot onstage on September 10, 2025, Newsom confirmed that the two men continued communicating in the months following their chat. "He was gracious enough, to not only say, yes, he flew out, to do it [the podcast interview] in person," he said during a campaign event shortly afterwards (via Fox News). "And I spent not just the hour plus, in a very civil conversation with Charlie, I spent time with him after, and we stayed in touch, including my team, stayed in touch pretty consistently." 

Although he and Kirk did not see eye-to-eye on many things, having the opportunity to discuss their differences was a valuable experience and something Newsom reckoned all Americans needed to learn how to do better. In the wake of the podcaster's assassination, Newsom's office issued a press release condemning it. "Charlie Kirk's murder is sick and reprehensible, and our thoughts are with his family, children, and loved ones," it read in part. "I knew Charlie, and I admired his passion and commitment to debate."

Some pundits thought Gavin Newsom completely mad for inviting Charlie Kirk to be the first guest on his "This is Gavin Newsom" podcast. Others saw it as a sign that Newsom is planning on running for president and trying to breach the political divide in an attempt to be a more attractive candidate come 2028. The Californian governor started his podcast with the intent to engage in conversation with those he disagrees with, and Kirk was as good a candidate as any. In what was one of Newsom's most controversial moments, he shocked Democrats and Republicans alike when Kirk grilled him on the issue of having transgender athletes competing in women's sports. "Would you say no men in female sports?" the conservative commentator asked Newsom, who responded, "Well, I think it's an issue of fairness. I completely agree with you on that." 

This evoked a firestorm, with the Sacramento Bee decrying the entire interview as a "public blunder" and asserting that no one would be interested in these kinds of conversations in the first place. It's worth noting that Newsom's interview with Kirk has over 1 million views as of this writing. It wasn't just the public offering criticism, though; some of the governor's colleagues were also unhappy with his choice to host Kirk and the comments he made on the show. Former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot condemned Newsom's stance on the transgender issue, calling his comments, "disgusting" (via Newsweek). When asked about the episode, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries simply replied that he'd not watched the interview for himself, but added, "[Democrats are opposed to] unleashing sexual predators on girls throughout the United States of America."