Gavin Newsom — the hair apparent to the Democrat 2028 nomination — waltzed onto *Real Time with Bill Maher* Friday night to hawk his new memoir and instead got publicly pantsed by a guy who’s supposed to be on his team. Maher looked the California governor dead in the eye and told him he’s imitating Donald Trump. On a *liberal* show. In front of a *liberal* audience.
You could practically hear the 2028 campaign flatline from here.
Newsom was there to promote his book — *Young Man in a Hurry: A Memoir of Discovery* — which is the most Gavin Newsom title in the history of publishing. A memoir of discovery! The man discovered how to ruin a state and then wrote a book about it. But Maher wasn’t interested in the book tour. He wanted to talk about the fact that Newsom has turned into the very thing Democrats claim to despise.
It started when Newsom bragged about suing Fox News. “Fox better look to settle right now or apologize for defamation,” the governor said, apparently expecting applause. Instead, Maher hit him with: “Okay, but that sounds exactly what he does. Suing media?!”
Newsom tried to recover. “Well then don’t defame, don’t lie,” he sputtered.
Maher wasn’t done. “But that does sound like him!” he repeated, twisting the knife. Then came the kill shot: “You are the one who kind of imitates his style with the trolling.”
That’s a *liberal comedian* telling the Democrats’ presumptive 2028 frontrunner that he’s become a Trump knockoff. On *his own show*. Newsom’s best defense? “I’m trying to put a mirror up to Donald Trump.” Ah yes, the old “I’m not copying him, I’m *reflecting* him” excuse. Very convincing, Governor. That’s like a kid wearing his dad’s suit and insisting he’s doing a character study.
But the Fox News lawsuit wasn’t even the worst of it. Maher went after California’s legendary $231 billion high-speed rail project — the train that was supposed to connect Los Angeles to San Francisco and has instead connected Sacramento to an infinite money pit. “I say this as a friend,” Maher told Newsom, “you got to let that train go! Let the train go.”
Two hundred and thirty-one BILLION dollars. That train has been “under construction” since 2015 and the only thing it’s transported so far is taxpayer money out of California’s treasury. But sure, Gavin, tell us more about your memoir of discovery. Sounds like the discovery was that you can light a quarter-trillion dollars on fire and still run for president.
Maher also grilled Newsom about California’s gas prices, sky-high rents, and the general misery of living in the state he runs. “There’s a whole litany,” Maher said, running through the list of failures like a prosecutor reading charges. Newsom’s response? “Good. One of the largest economies. Let’s go!”
Let’s go? Where exactly are we going, Governor? Because about 700,000 people already went — they left California. They went to Texas, Florida, Tennessee, anywhere that doesn’t charge you $6 a gallon to drive to a job that barely covers your $3,500-a-month studio apartment. “One of the largest economies” is doing a lot of heavy lifting when your citizens are fleeing to states with no income tax.
Here’s what makes this so delicious. Newsom didn’t get ambushed by Tucker Carlson or grilled on Fox & Friends. He got destroyed by *Bill Maher* — a man who voted for Hillary, voted for Biden, and has spent decades making fun of Republicans. When your own side’s comedian is telling you that you sound like the guy you’ve built your entire political identity around opposing, the jig is up.
The article from RedState noted that Newsom “was not completely prepared” for Maher’s tough questions and appeared “crushed” by the criticism. No kidding. He showed up expecting a book-tour softball interview and instead got a batting-cage fastball to the ribs.
This is the man Democrats want to run against Trump in 2028. A governor who can’t keep the lights on, can’t build a train, can’t keep gas under six bucks, and can’t even survive a friendly interview without getting compared to the guy he hates most. His own team is telling him he’s a Trump impersonator, and his best comeback is “I’m holding up a mirror.”
Mirror, mirror, on the wall — who’s the phoniest of them all?
We already know the answer. And now, thanks to Bill Maher, so does everyone else
