I want to get your take on that.

Well, it's humiliating, it's embarrassing.

I mean, the founding fathers lived and died to hold concentration, to call power, autocracy to account.

I mean, this is oligarchy.

This is what happens in Putin's Russia.

This is, it's humiliation.

We've lost our moral authority.

You know, one, where we write in the chapter, And to talk to us about how important that is going forward, because I think it's a big deal, you know, in terms of building information, a firehose of truth to fight back against a firehose of lies.

Yeah.

Uh, it, this is madness, but it's also gen- dangerous, and it has consequences, and let me be very specific about that.

I got a call first thing this morning from the head of my Office of Emergency Services, and they were already tracking more activity as it relates to cyber concerns, uh, that we've been tracking for some time.

All of us, every major state's dealing, uh, with cybersecurity issues.

Uh, but now with new intelligence coming in, I don't wanna overstate that, but I'm not gonna understate the impact of the words of the President of the United States.

And so as a consequence, our state operations center had to be lit up because of what the President said about taking out two of the most populous cities, and the most profoundly consequential cities, in the United States of America, and one of the most military rich cities, [laughs] San Diego, in the United States of America.

You're not r- running this time around, but, um, what's the message to folks out there?

I, I, it's the same message that our Founding Fathers lived and died by.

Her, her story is, like, um, uh, she was taking a lot of drugs and drinking a lot.

Yeah.

No, look, I mean, I got nothing more to say on it.

I, I wrote about it in the book briefly, and the whole thing was brief and, you know, and it, uh, it certainly has defined a lot of those years as mayor, 'cause I, you know, I had to confront the voters I...

With, on that, you know? And I got, I had an election right [laughs] after all that came out and, uh, but that wasn't important.

It was confronting myself and, and that was what we-

... you, you know-

No, just boneheaded decision.

But that's $600 million that he is, I believe, stealing, from my opinion, from the American people, from his

constituents.

I thought he made it up.

Nine months later, we saw the tax returns, and it was $634 whatever million.

He was actually being literal.

Can't make this stuff up.

I mean, the Qatari jet, I keep, I get so frustrated.

why is Gavin Newsom out here in South Carolina? His status is in shambles and he's not serving the people of South Carolina.

But that $600 million that he is, I believe, stealing, from my opinion, from the American people, from his

constituents.

I thought he made it up.

Nine months later, we saw the tax returns, and it was $634-whatever million.

He was actually being literal.

Can't make this stuff up.

I mean, the Qatari jet, I get so frustrated when people say it was a $400 million gift.

Schedule your personalized appointment today at Gatewaysupply.net. That's Gatewaysupply.net. We look forward to your visit.

Is that how you fix it now?

Well, you start there.

You've got to acknowledge the problem.

We didn't even acknowledge the problem.

We didn't want to talk about it because we thought somehow it was a zero-sum game it was going to take away from our agenda on women and girls.

It's so ironic, too, because I have a little history here.

My wife, who's been a fierce champion of women, and Girls Road and did a documentary that Oprah purchased a decade and a half ago called Misrepresentation, about the mis- and under-representation of women and girls.

Mm-hmm.

Is that how you fix it now?

Well, you start there.

You've got to acknowledge the problem.

We didn't even acknowledge the problem.

We didn't want to talk about it because we thought somehow it was a zero-sum game it was going to take away from our agenda on women and girls.

It's so ironic, too, because I have a little history here.

My wife, who's been a fierce champion of women, and Girls Road and did a documentary that Oprah purchased a decade and a half ago called Misrepresentation, about the mis- and under-representation of women and girls.

Mm-hmm.

Is that how you fix it now?

Well, you start there.

You've got to acknowledge the problem.

We didn't even acknowledge the problem.

We didn't want to talk about it because we thought somehow it was a zero-sum game it was going to take away from our agenda on women and girls.

It's so ironic, too, because I have a little history here.

My wife, who's been a fierce champion of women, and Girls Road and did a documentary that Oprah purchased a decade and a half ago called Misrepresentation, about the mis- and under-representation of women and girls.

Mm-hmm.

I began by asking him why he's focused on red and rural counties.

Well, I get a lot of Democrats say, well, don't waste your resources.

And I think what they really mean is money.

And I could see that argument.

I can intellectually, if you have a limited amount of money and it's a scarcity issue, where do you invest those dollars? But time is free.

Showing up, just having the decency to say you're worth the drive, there's no excuse not to do that.

And our party hasn't done that for 20-plus years.

But not the

I began by asking him why he's focused on red and rural counties.

Well, I get a lot of Democrats say, well, don't waste your resources.

And I think what they really mean is money.

And I could see that argument.

I can intellectually, if you have a limited amount of money and it's a scarcity issue, where do you invest those dollars? But time is free.

Showing up, just having the decency to say you're worth the drive, that's – there's no excuse not to do that.

And our party hasn't done that for 20-plus years.

But not the

I began by asking him why he's focused on red and rural counties.

Well, I get a lot of Democrats say, well, don't waste your resources.

And I think what they really mean is money.

And I could see that argument.

I can intellectually, if you have a limited amount of money and it's a scarcity issue, where do you invest those dollars? But time is free.

Showing up, just having the decency to say you're worth the drive.

Um, that's, that's, there's no excuse not to do that.

But not the

Anything strike you in terms of meeting people, hearing what people are saying from maybe when we talked, you know, last year or mid last year?

I was, uh, walking Dexter Avenue with a Freedom Rider.

She said, "I can't believe we're fighting the same fights." I mean, this is pretty sober moment, man.

I mean, the fact that we're talking to folks that are asking about this post office and whether or not they're gonna get their absentee ballots in time, or if they do get them, whether or not they're gonna get sent back in time.

Uh, it's remarkable moment in American history, and I think what people want, and more than anything else, is to be seen, heard.

And a lot of people, forgive me, they wanna be hugged.

They, they wanna-- [laughs] It, it's, it's an emotional time, and particularly for people here in the South that are bearing the brunt of the assault on voting rights, civil rights, and the rollback of the same, the anti-DEI, anti-woke movement.

What would you, what would you say, though, to a future administration that sees the Trump regime putting in their golden ballrooms and all of these things? What should happen to the golden ballrooms and Trump building these monuments to himself? What, what's your view of that, hypothetically?

Anything strike you in terms of meeting people, hearing what people are saying from maybe when we talked, you know, last year or mid last year?

I was, uh, walking Dexter Avenue with a Freedom Rider.

She said, "I can't believe we're fighting the same fights." I mean, this is pretty sober moment, man.

I mean, the fact that we're talking, folks are asking about this post office and whether or not they're gonna get their absentee ballots in time, or if they do get them, whether or not they're going to get sent back in time.

Uh, it's remarkable moment in American history, and I think what people want, an- more than anything else, is to be seen, heard, [laughs] and a lot of people, I forgive me, wanna be hugged.

They, they wa- It's, it's, it's an emotional time, and particularly for people here in the south that are bearing the brunt of the assault on voting rights, civil rights, and the rollback of the same anti-DEI, anti-woke movement.

And y- you come to a campus like this, man, you see the best and the brightest.

What would you, what would you say though to a future administration that sees the Trump regime putting in their golden ballrooms and all of these things? What should happen to the golden ballrooms and Trump building these monuments to himself? What, what's your view of that hypothetically?

Do you think there is something going on that explains what many would say is somewhat erratic behavior?

I don't know.

You know, he's lost his fastball in the vernacular of the Toronto Blue Jays.

You know, he's he's not the same guy that, you know, I was talking to almost on a weekly basis a few years back.

He's a punch drunk boxer.

He's flailing.

Everything's falling apart.

What is your message to Canadians and to the president on this?

What do you make of the Trump family corruption and the fact that that's not really talked about, but then he still feels so comfortable going after your family?

Well, I, you know, how much time do we have? I mean, I'm serious.

I mean, you know, now that we saw a week ago, not a $400 million Qatari plane.

Remember there was almost $950 million in the Pentagon budget to retrofit that plane.

That will be his personal plane.

that he was quote unquote gifted by the Qatari government.

That's just a symbolic example of the corruption.

Give me a

Talk to us about what a big deal this announcement was for those who haven't heard it.

You know, I, I think it was...

I, I'm really proud of th-these, the, the data that just came out.

I mean, the lowest homicides in recorded history in California.

Time for updated talking points on all of those with California Derangement Syndrome, the lowest homicide rate since 1966, maybe much lower than prior to '66.

It's just the modern, uh, data collection was 1966.

Violent crime last year down another 10.2% in every category, property crimes, robberies, et cetera, below pre-19-- uh, 2019 levels and double digit in, uh, decreases in 2025.

To me, that kinda sums it all up sometimes.

Yeah.

I really am on this.

I'm not an ideologue, but I have instinctual concerns about reforming the court in terms of its size.

Good people argue differently.

You do as well.

But you, we agree on term limits.

We agree on ethic and code of conduct reforms.

You know, I, I've been, I've been asked what is, what is the first thing that, uh, that the left needs to do when it takes power again, and, and I have said the first thing that needs to happen is, is court reform and court expansion.

Into both of you, I would love for you guys to both address this and what's happening.

It's all on contrast today.

I walked up.

A couple of people said when they walked upstairs, they said they were crying the whole time.

And I looked at him.

I said, I'm good.

Got up there, literally started tearing up.

We need more of this.

I apologize for the word salad there, Governor.

No, I mean, you saw this play out in, um, uh, in, in many ways, similar contours and, and connecting a lot of the narrative that you just advanced in San Francisco as it relates to the last mayoral election.

And, and change did take shape there.

The incumbent lost.

Um, and there's a different set of spirit and pride right now.

You're seeing real progress.

You were start-- You saw some of that progress candidly before, uh, the, you know, before the election, but it wasn't felt.

What, what is your thought at a state level around regulation or AI and at a federal level?

What does that mean for someone who d- who knows nothing about the budget?

Well, it, it means it's not only balanced this year.

It's also balanced next year.

So for the next 18 months, we've left the next administration a balanced budget that does as much or more than any other state in America in terms of our universal healthcare, the subsidies for childcare, brand-new grade TK for all, continue our investments, uh, as it relates to lowering the cost of prescription drugs, $11 insulin, allowing us to do, uh, these new and novel strategies around reducing costs to new families.

Uh, we eliminated a few years ago taxes on diapers, but diapers still cost too much money, so now we're handing out 400 free diapers.

Uh, we'll double the program next year, and we now have a budget that establishes the how to pay for it.

And, uh, I, I think it's just a reminder for progressives you don't have to be profligate, uh, to be progressive.

Mm-hmm.

You came of age at the same time as all those Silicon Valley people.

I was with Larry and Sergey at Google, and when Steve Jobs taps us on the shoulder and says, "Hey." He wasn't interested in me.

He was interested in Larry and Sergey.

To show us, pulled out of his back pocket, uh, the first iPhone, and we're like, you know, it was like a joyride.

We're going with our fingers.

Like, oh, wee.

And they're all by f- You know, they were just...

Yeah

To make it as easy as possible so that we're not kind of ceding all of this ground, surrendering this population to states that are only going to, you know, usher in Republican policies that, that, you know, help dismantle, chip away at our democracy?

In some ways it, it, it may be even more challenging because of legal immigration that's been impacted by Trump and Trumpism, and legal immigration has been one of the sources of our population growth for decades and decades in California.

It's one of the reasons California's economy is so vibrant, is we get the best and the brightest first draft, draft choices from around the rest of the world.

That said, uh, we had three years of population growth, 308,000 net new, uh, people in the state of California between 2022 and 2025.

Your broader point though, around housing, is at the core of the challenge not only California and Californians are feeling, but people all across this country.

I was just looking at some new data about Florida and the fact they're starting to lose folks because of the cost of living and housing affordability, or lack thereof, particularly as it relates to homeowner insurance as well.

Um, that said, we are very, very proud in this state to have just passed some of the most significant zoning reforms in not only our state's history, but we think are models for the rest of the country.

Yeah.

[clapping]

The dignity of the president of the United States.

Um, but again, we're not trying to dehumanize.

We're just trying to reflect that reality and express the absurdity of all of this.

And look, the absurdity i- it's ju- every day, it's a corruption story, the Trump administration.

Uh, you referenced it obliquely in the opening monologue.

But let's get serious.

[laughs]

What do you think?

In these competitions, as you know, you know I've, what I've said, I don't think it's fair on those high-end competitions, and I've said that.

And it, and, and what, what's so disheartening for me with a 20-year record of advocacy on behalf of the LGBTQ community that put my r- my reputation on the line to have the backs of the community and continue to to this day on that issue, because I disagree, you're taking away from someone else's right to compete as well.

And this is where it's different than so many other rights advocacy in the movement, is you have to acknowledge that.

And the fact that I think we have to have a debate about that and how we address that with grace and with love, people say, "Well, you're throwing the community under the bus." Ah, that's, that's hurtful to me, and I don't think it's representative of my feelings, and nor is it of others that may share my feelings, that, uh, do not hate the community and that are not bigots.

Yeah

... as well.

So look, I, I'm not, I don't wake up every day to try to find, you know, a crowbar to put in the spokes of his wheel.

What do you think?

In these competitions, as you know, you know I've, what I've said, I don't think it's fair on those high-end competitions, and I've said that.

And it, and, and what, what's so disheartening for me with a 20-year record of advocacy on behalf of the LGBTQ community that put my r- my reputation on the line to have the backs of the community, and continue to to this day, on that issue, because I disagree, you're taking away from someone else's right to compete as well.

And this is where it's different than so many other rights advocacy in the movement, is you have to acknowledge that.

And the fact that I think we have to have a debate about that and how we address that with grace and with love, people say, "Well, you're throwing the community under the bus." Ah, that's, that's hurtful to me, and I don't think it's representative of my feelings, and nor is it of others that may share my feelings, that, uh, do not hate the community and that are not bigots.

Yeah

... as well.

So look, I, I'm not, I don't wake up every day to try to find, you know, a crowbar to put in the spokes of his wheel.