California Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom, considered by many political insiders to be the frontrunner for the Democratic nominee for the 2028 presidential election, highlighted his dream strategy to combat his potential Republican opponents.
Fight them (for real!).
In an explosive podcast appearance this week, Newsom threatened to punch “sons of bitches” President Donald Trump and the Republicans “in the mouth.”
Newsom made his veiled threat on “The Siren Podcast”, which was broadcast this past Wednesday.
Here’s a transcript of Newsom’s back-and-forth with the hosts:
Newsom: “This guy’s not screwing around. He’s not. I mean, this is a guy who literally celebrated the fact that, well, Putin himself said, sir, you know, mail-in balloting is, that’s not a, that’s not a, that’s not a — I mean, this is a guy who’s rigged all his elections, Putin, giving advice to Trump. Trump took it. I mean, what more sensibilities you need? And I say this to Republicans out there. I pray you pay attention to what’s going on. This is not about, he doesn’t care about the Republican Party. He took it over. He’s an invasive species. The Republican Party, it doesn’t even reflect itself. I mean, look at these Republicans cowering to this guy. Look at your Republican governor [Texas Gov. Greg Abbott], used to claim to be a conservative. What a farce. Nothing conservative about this. I mean, by definition, nothing conservative about this. This is radical rigging of a midterm election, radical rigging of an election, destroying, vandalizing this democracy. the rule of law. So I’m sorry. I know some people’s sensibilities. I respect and appreciate that. But right now, with all due respect, we’re walking down a damn different path. We’re fighting fire with fire. I’m going to punch these sons of bitches in the mouth.”
JoJoFromJerz (podcast host): “Oh, amen to that.”
Take a listen —
Newsom’s off-color threat echoes a similar threat that former President Joe Biden made against Trump, at times claiming he would “beat up Trump.”
Remember this?
As Newsom gears up for a possible run at The White House, he has launched a number of attacks against Trump and his GOP allies.
Newsom recently said that President Trump was using “Putin’s playbook” and “militarizing American cities” by using the National Guard — and, in Los Angeles, the Marines — to stop rioting and violent crime.
The rhetoric of violence against Republicans has played out in real life.
President Trump has survived at least two assassination attempts, and Republicans have also been targeted for assassination, most notably at a baseball practice in 2017 when then U.S. House Majority Whip Steve Scalise was shot.