Despite wildly different political views and incentives ahead of the 2024 campaign, former President Donald Trump and Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) rarely attack each other.
During Tuesday night’s interview with Tucker Carlson, Trump visibly shocked the Fox News host by revealing “he gets along with” the California governor and refusing to disparage Newsom in spite of ample bait from Carlson.
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“I used to get along great with him when I was president. We got along really good, Gavin,” Trump said.
“Wait, you got along with Gavin Newsom?!” Carlson shot back in astonishment. The host has long raged at Newsom and even recently warned on his broadcast that Newsom could be the Democrats’ 2024 contingency plan if President Joe Biden falters.
“He was always very nice to me. He said the greatest things. He would say things like ‘Oh, he’s doing a great job,'” Trump added. “That’s why I could never hit him because he was so nice to me.”
Interesting exchange here about Newsom:
Trump: “I used to get along great with him (Gavin Newsom) when I was president. We got along really good.”
Tucker: “Wait, you got along with Gavin Newsom?!”
Trump: “I did. I really did. He was always very nice to me. He said the greatest… pic.twitter.com/GBSWvZi8nf
— Justin Hart (@justin_hart) April 12, 2023
One of Trump’s claims to fame in politics is his slash-and-dash style in which he brutally rhetorically carpet bombs his foes. Even potential rivals that haven’t instigated a tiff with him, such as Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), are often subject to his unpredictable ire.
Newsom has similarly taken aim at DeSantis, recently stopping in Florida during a broader tour of red states to rebut GOP policies. But he has repeatedly declined to unleash fire on Trump, the top Republican in 2024.
“He’s going to get rolled by Trump. Trump’s just going to roll him,” Newsom recently mused of a matchup between Trump and DeSantis. “Thumped.”
A bevy of Republicans perennially attack Newsom and juxtapose California’s state of affairs in housing and crime with red states. DeSantis, Trump’s leading 2024 GOP rival, and others such as Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) often gloat over data points suggesting an exodus of Californians have retreated to their respective states.
Both men hold high positions in their party, with Trump being the most recent Republican president and murmurs of a Newsom presidency swirling around the governor. They also have a connection through Kimberly Guilfoyle.
Guilfoyle was married to Newsom from 2001 to 2006. In December 2020, she engaged to Donald Trump Jr., news of which did not become public until January 2022, HuffPost reported.
“She fell prey, I think, to the culture at Fox in a deep way,” Newsom later reflected on his marriage to Guilfoyle. “She would disagree with that assessment, she would perhaps suggest that she found the light.”
Guilfoyle later poured cold water on that assessment, stressing that she “didn’t change, he did.”
Trump and Newsom’s rapport was on full display when wildfires tore through the Golden State in 2020. Newsom lauded the Trump administration’s assistance at the time and tepidly prodded him to acknowledge the role of climate change in the extreme weather.
President Trump and California Gov. Gavin Newsom strongly disagree on the role that climate change plays in the devastating wildfires. But on Monday, they were exceedingly polite about it. https://t.co/zThEsy5ePb pic.twitter.com/khLAfxC6O4
— The New York Times (@nytimes) September 14, 2020
“I am working to solve problems, not create problems,” Newsom said about his kinship with Trump, per CalMatters. “I’m willing to put aside our differences on a lot of issues to meet this moment, so I can meet the needs of the people of the state of California.”
Political odd couples occasionally spring up. For instance, former Rep. Katie Hill (D-CA) was once friendly with Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) prior to her resignation from the lower chamber. Former Presidents Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush also became close despite squaring off in the 1992 election.
In the past, Trump has also refrained from criticizing world leaders such as Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un after receiving praise from them.
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One man whom Trump wasn’t shy about bashing during the Carlson interview was Biden.
“There’s something wrong,” Trump said, alluding to Biden’s recent off-the-cuff quip that he plans on running in 2024. “I saw his answer today on television … it was a long answer about the eggs and this and that, look I don’t think he can.”
