While Los Angeles is ravaged by wildfires and mudslides, Gavin Newsom has launched his 2028 presidential bid. He's trying to rehabilitate his career and appear more centrist by launching a podcast. If his real goal is running for president, he's destroying that path early.

The Gavin Newsom Podcast is driving California voters crazy. Newsom launched it and invited right-wing guests like Charlie Kirk, Steven Bannon, and others. The Kirk interview was called "a softball interview in which [Newsom] praised or agreed with Kirk nearly 125 times, including saying he "appreciates" Kirk or his ideas a whopping 52 times."

It left an impression on Kirk, who said, "Governor Newsom was being overly-effusive in his praise of me." Charlie went on to attack Newsom for being a disaster for California, which is an argument that would leave any conservative shaking their head in agreement.

Analysis of Newsom's polling numbers showed him taking a severe hit with everyone. "The negative impact on Newsom's popularity with voters is clearly visible in this survey. Newsom's favorability in our last survey, done the first week of February of this year, had his total favorability at 52%, with 48% unfavorable, for a net favorability (favorable minus unfavorable) of +4. Notably, his 'very favorable' was at 25%."

Additionally, "[Newsom's] favorability has dropped to 47%, with his 'very favorable' dropping to 18% and his net favorable going to -6, for a 10-point drop in net favorability. Among self-identified liberals, 37% said that these snippets of the Newsom podcast harmed their perception of the governor, and among these voters the governor's 'very favorable'number has dropped from 46% to 30%."

In short, Republicans don't trust Newsom or anything he says. Moderates don't think this makes much of a difference. Liberals look at Newsom like he's gone mad. Newsom already faced an uphill battle nationally, with Californians voting with their legs and fleeing the state in droves.

People fleeing California are not a Republican talking point. That fact played a serious role in pushing swing states further to the right. Nevada was front and center, with Californian expats fleeing to the state and loathing both Kamala Harris and Gavin Newsom.

Before the November election, Politico interviewed one of those former Californians who said, "California just got to be a communist state ... [It was] Kamala Harris, it was Governor Newsom, it was a leftist, anti-business legislature who just felt they had to control everything. They even went so far as banning straws."

Outside Nevada, those same people have fled in droves to Florida, a state that Newsom constantly attacks. And he's tried to continue attacking Florida on his podcast. But rhetoric doesn't get you far when hard data says people hate California and New York.

One Republican listener seemed to sum things up for everyone, "Gavin Newsom is about as trustworthy as a feral skunk."

In short, what seemed like a smart move politically among the political class has imploded with reality. No one, not Democrats, independents, or Republicans, believes Newsom is sincere in his backtracking or persuasive in his defenses.

For politicians, what you've done on the job outranks your ability to spit out speeches and talk politics in the pundit class. People are fleeing California, and Newsom had few answers when Los Angeles burned from wildfires. In fact, his policies were directly in the limelight.

The L.A. wildfires are a decisive capstone on Newsom's governorship. He spun a lot of words while real people suffered from bad policies, indecision, or political malpractice. Newsom can't call himself one of the most successful governors in America, and that's the real problem with his podcast.

His answers and reassurances don't seem real because his time as governor cannot be considered successful. People are fleeing, companies are uprooting, and UHaul trucks are flooding every other state in the union. Ron DeSantis does not have this problem. No one looks at hurricanes in Florida and finds a similar failure to the L.A. wildfires.

Gavin Newsom was given a pass/fail test and failed it. The podcast is his attempt to dig out from under the rubble of a disastrous legacy that he built. Perhaps this podcast works long-term and convinces liberals in national Democratic circles to roll from a failed governorship to the top of the Democratic Party ticket.

But the ripples from Newsom's governorship are felt everywhere else. I live in Tennessee, and we've seen a huge influx of people telling the same stories. A state like California has no business being in the position it is. It has an incredible climate, an enviable history, and all the natural benefits in the world.

Gavin Newsom ran that into the ground and let crime, homelessness, and poverty take hold in what should be the most prosperous state in the union. Talking with Republican influencers is an interesting political play, but it doesn't erase the Newsom legacy.