Gavin Newsom has a podcast. Normally, I'd be tempted to ask, "Who cares?" But the impeccably coiffed California governor hasn't yet learned that, when entering into the battle of ideas, one had better come armed with, you know, ideas. Governor Newsom seems to be operating with a deficiency of those. Worse still, he doesn't seem to have developed the thick skin one needs to wage that battle of ideas. When my Townhall colleague and friend Larry O'Connor took an episode of Governor Newsom's podcast and subjected it to a line-by-line critique, the neatly Brylcreemed governor responded by trying to get the columnist demonetized. That's indirect censorship, an unforgivable act by an elected official.
🚨NEW — Governor Gavin Newsom is issuing YouTube copyright claims through his "This is Gavin Newsom" podcast on his incendiary address to California during violent riots.
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) June 12, 2025
Conservative video creators like @LarryOConnor who are critical of Gavin Newsom's words are being punished. pic.twitter.com/IY65Z4QtvX
Our sister site, Twitchy, had this to say:
Well, well, well, would you look at that? Gavin Newsom is going full authoritarian and working to demonetize and censor conservatives for daring to criticize him. Almost as if he knows the truth isn't his friend these days.
If it ever was.
Honestly, this tells us everything we need to know about covering Newsom; we're getting to him. All of us, speaking up and calling him out for the lies and BS he pushes to protect himself and ONLY himself. You'd think by now, he'd know that the more he tries to shut us all up, the louder we'll get.
And c'mon, targeting Larry O'Connor?
Gavin. Dude. Grow a pair.
That's a fair point. But there's more to it than this.
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Governor Newsom is a public figure. What's more, he's an elected official, paid by the taxpayers of California. I don't think they're getting their money's worth, but I wouldn't think they were getting value from Newsom if his monthly salary consisted of one unopened can of mackerel. Point is, all of Governor Newsom's pronouncements and public statements are fair game for criticism or even for poking fun at.
From what I know of Larry, he won't be bullied or intimidated. But that's what Gavin Newsom - did I mention that he's an elected official? That's what Gavin Newsom is doing here. Sure, iHeart Media is a private company, and can regulate content as it likes. Gavin Newsom, though, is using the considerable weight of his office to influence iHeart Media, and we feel certain that iHeart Media would not have taken this action without Gavin Newsom's prodding.
In simple English, Gavin Newsom can't take the heat, so he's trying to throw Larry O'Connor out of the kitchen, and would do the same to any of us who dare to challenge his pious pronouncements.
The last few days have shown us all too well what Gavin Newsom is: An incompetent, a radical, a self-serving cipher with delusions of adequacy. And this man is being talked up as the Democrats' candidate for the 2028 presidential election? A candidate who can't even face up to a little free and open discussion of his own public statements?
Yeah, sure, this is Gavin Newsom, all right. And Mr. Governor? A little dab'll do ya.
Editor's Note: The Deep State is working overtime to subvert President Trump's agenda and the will of the people.
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