The MeidasTouch Podcast - Gavin Newsom on His Plan to End Trump's Presidency Early (Exclusive Interview)

Episode Date: August 15, 2025

MeidasTouch host Ben Meiselas has an exclusive interview with California Governor Gavin Newsom following his powerful press conference in Los Angeles, where Newsom revealed his plan to finally stand up to Donald Trump with force and strength. Subscribe to Meidas+ at https://meidasplus.com Get Meidas Merch: https://store.meidastouch.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hey, we know you probably hit play to escape your business banking, not think about it. But what if we told you there was a way to skip over the pressures of banking? By matching with the TD Small Business Account Manager, you can get the proactive business banking advice and support your business needs. Ready to press play? Get up to $2,700 when you open select Small Business Banking products. Yep, that's $2,700 to turn up your business. Visit TD.com slash Small Business Match to learn more.

Conditions apply. Ready to level up, Chamba Casino is your playbook to fun. It's free to play with no purchase necessary. Enjoy hundreds of casino-style games like bingo, slots, and solitaire, anytime, anywhere, with fresh releases every week. Whether you're at home or on the go, let Chumba Casino bring the excitement to you. Plus get free daily login bonuses and a free welcome bonus. Join now for your chance to redeem some serious prizes.

Play Chumba Casino today. No purchase necessary. VGW Group, Voidware prohibited by law 18 plus TNCs apply. I'm here with California Governor Gavin Newsom. You held a big press conference today in Los Angeles, and you said, now is the time where we can end the Trump presidency in his tracks as he's trying to rig this election. Talk about what you announced today and how important it is. Well, look, I really believe this.

The moment that Speaker Jeffries is sworn in as Speaker of the House, de facto Trump's presidency ends. That's 17 months. and all things being equal, playing by the same set of rules in a system that is well-defined, that's going to happen. I think Donald Trump understands that, and that's exactly why he called Greg Abbott, telling him he's entitled to five seats because he needs to rig the election before one vote is cast before 2026.

And today, we push back announcing our campaign to neuter, to neutralize what Greg Abbott Donald Trump are trying to do in Texas and try to stand up for our democracy, stand up for the rule of law, and give the people the power to make a decision on November 4th with a special election. So then Donald Trump clearly intimidated by your announcement. He sends border patrol agents and ICE to patrol outside the venue, intimidate people who are walking in, arrest people. Talk to us about that when you learned about that, what your response to that is because it looked straight out of an authoritarian regime. Yeah, I mean, what more evidence you need. I mean, I think maybe he's being counseled by Victor Orban or any of these guys. I mean,

this is, we didn't need to say a word at the press conference. You had two U.S. senators there. You had a half dozen congressional representatives. You had leaders from the faith industry of Feeder is representing the diversity of the state of California, all here. Where are they at the Democracy Center? Where are they in Little Tokyo? Where are they? In hollowed ground, the site in the 1940s where the Japanese were bused from this exact location that Border Patrol and ICE showed up at, where they interned American citizens.

What more evidence do you need of the imperative of meeting this moment head on? What more evidence do we need that we need to fight fire with fire? At peril, we will lose this democracy. What more evidence do we need of how weak and pathetic? Donald Trump is that he would send these folks at the exact same location, an exact same time to intimidate in a sign of weakness, masquerading his strength, the people that not only showed up, but those that are speaking up to defend our democracy. You know, and Governor, he never says it to your face.

I always bring it back to this. He's always keyboard warrior, you know, when he holds those bizarre press conferences, he calls you new scum, this, and he makes all of these statements to be a tough guy. But the times where I've seen you with him, where you've stood up to him taller than him, looking down at him, firm handshake, where he's in front of the press, where he has the ability to call you out and do that tough guy act, he's free to do it in public. He never does it. and then he like pretends that like y'all are cool he's like oh yeah and it's such a weird thing to

see then he goes back you know to his safe spaces and calls you up what do you make of that though what's your message to him with that behavior well it's it's reminiscent of the behavior of the seventh graders that used to use the same nickname uh on baltimore street in cordomeda california uh that uh we're out there trying to bully me but it was a seventh grader not a 79 year old I mean, it's really pathetic. This is a guy, people look up to the President of the United States. I mean, Mr. President, it's time to act like one. This is real life, it's not reality TV.

And you've got to model better behavior. But I just, I think it's sad. And I think it's even worse than you just described. And I'll just give you a specific to that. When Donald Trump was just, you know, a day before, he was to federalize the National Guard here, in Los Angeles. He called me. We talked on a Friday night, late at night. And all he wanted, he wanted to brag about the new scum thing. He said, it's pretty funny, isn't it? He goes,

pretty original. I said, well, it's not original. There was this guy, Maurice, I can't remember his name, but he used to say the same thing. He goes, hey, what about my hats? What do you think? It's pretty good brand, right? Mega. You know, pretty good. I've sold hundreds of thousands. I mean, I'm like, are you seriously, are we seriously having this conversation when you're supposed to be reading me the riot act about keeping people safe in Los Angeles? she never once talked about the National Guard. You never wanted to talk about what happened in L.A. It's much more alarming than you think.

And that's why what is happening in plain sight, you need to see for your own eyes, we've got to pay attention. This guy is unhinged. He's getting weaker and weaker by the day. You saw that with the new inflation numbers that came out, the wholesale numbers that came out today. You're seeing that with an economy that's slowing down. You see that with the crony capitalism,

where he's extracting and nationalizing businesses, socializing, dare I say, some America's most iconic businesses and doing 15% extractions. Ask in Vita how that feels. Look what's happening in this country to truth and trust. He's trying to censor historical facts. He's trying to rewrite history in the Smithsonian's.

This is one of the great graphs and the great corruption that we've ever seen in U.S. history. Billions of billions of dollars have been fleeced from the American people. It's right in front of us. So this is a serious moment. It requires seriousness of purpose. And it requires us to fight fire with fire and play by a new set of rules.

And I know that's hard for Democrats. I know, trust me, I'm one of them. But this is a real moment of peril if we do not stand up. So right before he's about to send the National Guard and then the military into Los Angeles and California, all he wants to do. talk about is his MAGA hat. And if you want to talk about how, you know, is debate with Kamala Harris. You can't, you cannot make this stuff up. Did you see the debate? Did you see the hat? You like, you like my nicknames? Like, as though you're buds while he's out there saying all these horrible things, while he's sending the National Guard in. But look, what does this tell you?

I mean, he's meeting with Putin in Alaska now. And this is the behavior that you've seen. And now we're hearing reports about giving away natural resources from Alaska, rare earths from Ukraine, giving away chunks of Ukraine, not inviting Ukraine in Europe to this meeting. What do you make of that? What a negotiator. He's negotiated away all the terms. He's agreed to him. It says, how much land do you want?

Well, we'll just stipulate. You're going to get the land. I mean, this is a joke. This got 90 deals in 90 days. He didn't have one. We have no comprehensive trade deal. Not one. Not one real copyright.

We have press releases. it's all kabuki it's all BS I mean he's flailing he's failing it's not just poll numbers that means little to him at the end of the day will mean a lot during the midterms because poll numbers are determinative in midterms for the power for people in power in the white house and that's why he has to rig the system but this this this is a presidency that's flatlining in real time that's why he, you know, thuggishly went after UCLA and is trying to extort a billion dollars of one of the finest research institutions in the world that was part of, you know, the invention of the internet that's deeply part of our national security and national pride, the UC system,

public university with 13,800 active patents, the reason where the temple of the U.S. economy, the reason the U.S. economy is the temple of the world economy, he's willing to sacrifice it. And so the challenge for all of us is to wake up, wake up Democrats. You can't maintain your neutrality. Dante was right. The hottest place in hell is reserved for those at a time of moral crisis maintained their neutrality. This is binary. This guy is trying to wreck this democracy. He did it in plain sight on January 6th. He tried to do it with that phone call in Georgia to the Secretary of State. He just openly told the country

that he's, quote, unquote, entitled to five seats in Texas, and he has got a bootlicker with all due respect. And I'm sorry to say that, Governor Abbott, that literally said, yes, sir, and, what more can I do? And you just said it. He's going to someone he admires. He respects. He's like a kid.

He's so excited to meet with Putin, just as he is with Kim Jong-un. And all of these dictators, He attacks allies. He attacks freedom. He attacks principles that define the best of our democracy and our dominance since World War II. So this is a real moment to be held to a higher level of accountability. And that's why I pray people listening, have the back of our legislature and the backs of our founding fathers and come back and vote on November 4th here in California. We saw at the press conference today and then the press conference you gave a few

weeks back. You've been asked questions by members of corporate news. Why are you writing the social media messages in all caps? And why are you so aggressively mocking Donald Trump and his administration? I call them the regime. Why are you doing that? Does this give you the moral authority? Well, how could you do it? And I'm like, why are you asking this to go governor? What have you, where have you been? What do you make of that when that's, does that surprise you? that's the response or what do you what do you make of that what i mean what what an admission where they've been not asking don't trump this at every press conference i mean he he talks to people as if we're all a bunch of idiots he talks down to us talks past to us talks like we're third graders

like we're fools uh and where have they been asking the question of donald trump all caps you know thank you for your attention to this man or dj t so we we try to raise a little awareness around that tried to sort of take what he's doing and push it back in his direction. Now everyone's so offended, it's so unbecoming of your position. But not the president of the United States. It calls people nicknames. It's calling people. I mean, this is serious, serious moment.

It requires serious people. Requires serious journalism. But look, you know this. They're scared to death because he'll cancel them. He'll stop some merger. There's so many things we don't even know that are happening. the scenes i mean everything that happened with paramount everything happened to 60 minutes what's happening with these law firms what's happening harvard university boy shame on them if they sell their soul

they'll be selling out higher education they'll be selling out freedom of intellectual freedom and speech they'll be selling out their own institution other institutions we're not going to do just i'm done i'm on the other side of this i'm i got to be held to a higher level of accountability I'm not going to dream of regretting. We're going to put it all out on the line. It's time for all of us to stand the lines. It's not about drawing lines. It's about holding the line for our democracy.

And it's about protecting our freedoms. It's no longer taking for granted what we've enjoyed for 249 damn years. It's all at risk. What I liked about today's event is you weren't just talking. It wasn't just a press conference. You said, here's how I feel, but here's what I'm doing. Here's how we're using our formal authority. Here's how we're using our moral authority.

And you introduce the Election Ringing Response Act. Talk to us just about that and what people can do to get involved. Look, to your point, and I say this with love, I mean it as a participant in candlelight visuals, in a participant in protest. It's about not just sharing our passion. I think Oliver went to Homestead. It's about passion and action at peril of being judged not to have lived. Bobby Kennedy used to quote him all the time. Each of us will be judged, he said, and ultimately judge ourselves, ultimate judgment.

To the extent we contribute to the life of our city, our state, our nation, and the world we're trying to build. This is about action, not just passion. This is about, as we say in church, faith and works. And so we have to move from the rhetoric, and we've got to use all the tools we possibly can. Yes, formal authority, and California has it, a state larger than 21 state populations combined, fourth large economy in the world, but also our moral authority. And that's what we're trying to do, trying to call out this election rigors. We're trying to get power to the people, to the people.

We're not doing this behind closed doors. We're going to put the maps up, and we're going to do this in a temporary way, in a transparent way, in a democratic way. The legislature will introduce this formally in the maps on Monday. They should be done with the work. It will require two-thirds of both houses, and it will be done on Thursday, and it will present this to the voters on a special election that happens to coincide with other municipal elections. On November 4th, it is a sprint. And if California and one of the most untramed states in America is not successful at our peril, we may have got this, we may not get this back. I'm telling you, we may not. He is rigging this next midterm election before one

vote is cast. He tried to wreck our democracy after the last vote was cast the last time. Now he's doing it in plain sight, and we have to have our sites focused, laser focused, on winning, fighting fire with fire, no longer on our back heels, on our toes. We drive the narrative. We drive the reforms we drive the talking points surround sound not just california all of us we the people states large and small all across this country it is time for action no longer words california governor gavin us um thanks for joining us as always thanks for having me thank you everybody everybody hit subscribe let's get to six million subscribers the truth is more important than ever check out our new truth over lies collection at store.midastouch.com, all 100% USA union made.