Gavin Newsom has been viscously mocked for launching a podcast two months after Los Angeles was turned to ash by wildfires.
The California Governor posted a promo for ‘This Is Gavin Newsom’ on X Wednesday, where he will sit down and talk to Republicans to discuss their differences.
While the Golden State is in the midst of recovering from the horrific disaster, which left at least 29 people dead and more than 18,000 structures destroyed, the Democratic governor has promised that his new venture will be ‘anything but the ordinary ‘politician’ podcast.’
‘I’m gonna be talking to people directly who I disagree with, as well as people I look up to, but more importantly than anything else, I’ll be talking to you – the listeners,’ Newsom said.
He then touched on pressing issues Americans are facing right now, including the high price of eggs, the ‘real impacts’ around tariffs, the ‘power’ behind President Donald Trump’s executive orders, and ‘what’s really going on inside of DOGE.’
‘We already know what our disagreements are with the MAGA movement. I want to understand what the motivations are, the legitimacy of these motivations, and just really understand where people are coming from,’ Newsom told MediaIte.
‘They are influential – they are. They explain more things in more ways on more days about what’s going on, and if we’re not trying to understand their motivations, we will be victims of their motivations.’
Despite his beaming smile announcing the podcast, people quickly tore Newsom apart in the comments for focusing on this instead of the aftermath of the wildfires and spiraling homelessness in his state.
‘California needs a new governor, not another sh***y podcast,’ one person wrote.
‘California just burned to the ground and Gavin Newsom launches a podcast. That says it all,’ wrote another.
Someone else said: ‘So you failed at being governor and now you think people want to listen to you talking about being a failed governor? No thanks.’
Others said that Newsom has launched a new podcast as a way to branch out into a new career.
‘Launching a podcast because you know your near future doesn’t include politics?,’ one asked.
‘Gavin focusing on yet another podcast while his state circles the drain,’ another added.
Newsom currently appears on Politickin, a sports and political podcast, alongside Super Bowl Champion Marshawn Lynch and sports agent Doug Hendrickson.
Another branded him a ‘jerk,’ and said: ‘Gavin Newsom was supposed to be helping the residents of California, especially after the devastating wildfires. Instead, he was making a podcast.’
Last week Newsom – who has been widely criticized for his handling of the wildfires, along with Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass- asked Congress for nearly $40 billion to help rebuild Los Angeles and its surrounding areas that were impacted by the deadly wildfires.
Newsom, who has previously warned that the fires could become the costliest natural disaster in history, wrote a letter Friday to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries to ask for their assistance.
‘Los Angeles is one of the most economically productive places on the globe, but it can only rebound and flourish with support from the federal government as it recovers from this unprecedented disaster,’ Newsom wrote in the letter also addressed to Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), the House Appropriations Committee chair; and Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, the lead Democrat on that committee.
The fires, which burned for weeks and were controlled by countless firefighters, torched more than 57,000 acres of land in the Pacific Palisades, Malibu, Pasadena and Altadena.
The total economic loss from the fires is estimated to be $250 billion, which includes factors such as anticipated cleanup costs, housing displacement and businesses shutting down.
Real estate losses from the Palisades and the Eaton fires are predicted to surpass $30 billion, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Newsom’s letter to lawmakers reveals how the $39.7 billion in aid he is requesting will be spent on rebuilding homes, infrastructure, businesses, schools, churches and healthcare facilities.
The biggest chunk of the money – an additional $16.8 billion from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) – will be used to rebuild property and infrastructure. Of that, $5 billion will be earmarked for debris cleanup.
Newsom also requested $9.9 billion from the Department of Housing and Urban Development to provide grants for fire victims, homeowners, renters and businesses.
He wants the Small Business Administration to send the state $5.29 billion for loans to homeowners and businesses, while also increasing the loan maximum for home reconstruction from $500,000 to $2 million.
Additionally, he is asking for $4.32 billion in recovery grants for local governments from the Economic Development Administration and $2 billion in low-income housing tax credits from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
President Donald Trump and Speaker Johnson have both suggested that there could be conditions that California will need to meet in order to continue to get federal aid for the wildfires.
During the Conservative Political Action Conference on Friday, Trump’s special envoy Ric Grenell confirmed this, telling Politico ‘there will be conditions.’
One of Trump’s demands could be to take away federal dollars from the California Coastal Commission, a state agency that protects public access to beaches but has also been criticized for putting burdensome red tape on development.