Recommendations of the Editorial team
Gavin Newsom was a guest on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” to talk about his new book “Young Man in a Hurry” and his relationship with Donald Trump – giving Jimmy Kimmel the opportunity to present the governor of California with his own trophy.
At the end of the interview, Josh Meyers, dressed as Newsom, took the stage and presented Newsom with the 2026 FIFA Skydance Paramount Netflix Warner Bros Big Ass Lipton Cup O Peace. “What is it actually made of?” Kimmel asked as the giant trophy was unveiled. “Plated in platinum, ethically sourced from all my expired Amex cards,” Meyers revealed. “And it holds an entire magnum of that sick soft blanc.”
“About this historic honor, Governor, would you like to say a few words?” Kimmel asked. Newsom responded: “Look, this was long overdue. And I assume that comes with a third term?” He added: “Eat your heart out, Donald!”
Newsom’s phone calls with Trump
In the interview, Newsom spoke about his ongoing and very public dispute with Trump, who received the first (and fictitious) FIFA Peace Prize in December. “I think Trump secretly loves you,” Kimmel remarked.
Newsom described that he had “many interesting phone calls” with Trump. “The last time I called him was just before he federalized the National Guard here,” Newsom said. “He sent 700 active-duty Marines – not overseas, but to the second largest city in the United States of America. That was last June. People shouldn’t forget that.”
He continued: “I had a conversation with him the night before where he claimed he gave me a hard time. Here’s how it went: It was like 10:30 for me, 1:30 for him. And he says, ‘Hey, hey, Gav, Gav, what do you think of New Scum?’ That’s his nickname for me. I said, ‘What are you talking about?’ He said: ‘Pretty original, isn’t it?’ I said, ‘Not really. A school bully did that in eighth grade when I was a kid.’”
Democrats need to get tougher
“This is how the conversations with Trump are going,” Newsom added. “You can’t make this up. And about 12 hours later, he claimed he had taken my word for it and then moved forward with federalizing the National Guard.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Newsom reflected on the need for Democrats to take a stand against Trump and Republicans. “We have to get tougher,” Newsom said. “We have to be more aggressive and call these things by their real names. Otherwise we will lose our country.”
Newsom is an outspoken critic of Trump and regularly parodies his bombastic style on social media. In September, Newsom explained on “The Late Show” that his social media strategy was born of both inspiration and desperation.
Humor as a political weapon
“Everything we tried to get through stopped working,” he said. “So we decided to try something – to take up your point – unusual: humor. And I have to say, Democrats are sometimes a little – we’re not as humorous as we should be. We can seem a little stiff. So we thought we’d have a little fun with it. I never thought it would cut through like it did and get under the skin of the President of the United States like it did.”
