Overview
- Newsom told ABC’s Jonathan Karl the U.S. faces a “five-alarm fire,” warning 2028 would be a “Putin election” unless Democrats “stand up,” while criticizing Trump’s conduct and praising Biden-era laws like CHIPS and the Inflation Reduction Act.
- He has shifted from years of denials to saying he is seriously considering a 2028 presidential run, telling CBS he’d be “lying” to say otherwise and later adding on CNN that “everything changed.”
- His push now includes a California redistricting drive and support for the Election Rigging Response Act, with voters set to decide a new map next week as both parties battle over congressional lines.
- Early polling portrays a competitive landscape: surveys reported by Emerson/Nexstar and UMass Lowell/YouGov show hypothetical matchups with Vice President JD Vance close, with many voters undecided.
- Opponents are pressing his record, including a fatal truck crash controversy in which the White House said California issued the driver’s commercial license and Newsom countered that federal employment authorization was the prerequisite.