Ahead of a potential presidential run, California Gov. Gavin Newsom compared himself to the likes of Martin Luther King Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi during a recent podcast interview.
During a March 4 appearance on “The Adam Friedland Show,” Newsom acknowledged that he doesn’t have a brand like President Donald Trump, who has said “Make America Great Again” for well over a decade, or other politicians. Instead, Newsom said that his platform is “striking out against injustice” and standing up for his ideals.
Newsom, who was on the show in part to promote his new memoir, then went one step further.
“I’m a Sargent Shriver Democrat,” Newsom said. “I mean, in that whole ’60s, the vernacular … solving for ignorance and poverty, disease and the spirit of the ’60s, the spirit of [Martin Luther King Jr.], by the movement in Gandhi and [former South African activist and president Nelson] Mandela, that whole set of moral authority space.”
Gavin Newsom claims to not have a brand but channels MLK, Gandhi, Havel, Mandela as a moral authority
Why are you laughing?
That’s really what he said pic.twitter.com/43nuo0s4lc
— Kevin Dalton (@TheKevinDalton) March 5, 2026
“That’s the zeitgeist, yeah, and that’s that,” Newsom continued. “So that’s me. That’s my dad. So it’s my mom, that’s the book, and that’s my ‘why.’”
The decision to invoke King, Gandhi, and Mandela is certainly a bold move. All three were dedicated activists who risked their lives and safety for what they believed in. King and Gandhi were both assassinated, while Mandela served 27 years in prison following a conviction of sabotage and conspiring to overthrow the South African apartheid government.
Conversely, Newsom is in his second term as the governor of California. He’s claimed that his most significant roadblocks were his childhood struggles with dyslexia and his family’s alleged financial struggles. However, Newsom has faced accusations that he has either outright lied or exaggerated his family’s finances, given that his father worked as an attorney for billionaire Gordon Getty. Newsom also previously said that he and his family traveled with Getty on vacations.
Friedland asked Newsom how he would appeal to voters, saying, “So if you had to define it: ‘Vote for me and you get X.’”
“You don’t like Hot Gandhi?”@MegynKelly reacts to a BRUTAL rambling answer Gavin Newsom gave to @AdamFriedland, and an absurd question of Newsom from Katie Couric.
FULL: https://t.co/5lc5KnEAA6 pic.twitter.com/YZmUQuZqzA
— The Megyn Kelly Show (@MegynKellyShow) March 7, 2026
“I just gave you my why,” Newsom replied.
Although Newsom has not officially announced a 2028 presidential run, he nonetheless remains the overwhelming favorite to be the Democratic nominee. Polymarket gives Newsom 25% odds to win the nomination, well ahead of New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who sits at 9%. Former Vice President Kamala Harris, who lost to Trump in 2024, and Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff both have 5% odds.
Vice President JD Vance has 21% odds to win the election, with Newsom not far behind at 18%. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who sits at 10%, is the only other potential candidate with at least 10% odds.
As of publication, no politician from either major political party has announced their plans to run for president in two years.
