Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) took to Substack on Monday in an effort to further “cut through the right-wing disinformation.”
The California governor already has a podcast, This is Gavin Newsom, which he launched in February as a way to have “honest discussions with people that agree and disagree with us.” Newsom also launched the podcast Politickin’ with former NFL player Marshawn Lynch in July 2024. His newest Substack venture continues his fight to break through “so much noise.”
“There’s so much mis- and disinformation out there. There’s so much noise. I don’t need to tell you that,” Newsom said in an online video. “The question is, how do we break through all of that noise and engage in real conversations? And that’s why I’m launching on Substack. I hope you’ll follow me so we can continue to engage in a two-way conversation at this critical moment in our history.”
Just launched on Substack.
We have to flood the zone and continue to cut through the right wing disinformation machine.
Follow & tune in for my first live conversation with @AaronParnas at 11:30am PT today! https://t.co/obyv4f8x1x pic.twitter.com/iGQ6SYvpi8
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) June 17, 2025
Newsom joins former ABC News journalist Terry Moran and former CNN anchor Jim Acosta, who have also launched their own Substack newsletters following their departures from their respective networks.
“We have to flood the zone and continue to cut through the right-wing disinformation machine,” Newsom said in his video’s caption.
The rhetoric of Newsom’s announcement deviated from his previous politically centrist comments when he came out against transgender athletes in women’s sports, calling it “deeply unfair.” He also had described the anti-police protests of 2020 as “lunacy.”
On Tuesday, California gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton blasted Newsom for missing the mark on implementing his proposed views.
“Gavin Newsom has completely lost the plot. He doesn’t know what he is doing,” Hilton said. “Like a few months ago, he was all about trying to pretend that he was moderate. Of course, he is not. He didn’t do anything about any of the issues that he talked about, whether that’s biological men in girls sports or anything else.”
Newsom is a year away from reaching his two-term limit after he survived a recall election in 2021. He is seen as a likely Democratic presidential candidate for the 2028 election.