Newsom Ripped for Going on ‘Pod Save America’ While L.A. Burns

Gavin Newsom is being ripped for his decision to go on Pod Save America while his state is being devastated by wildfires.

The California governor’s sit-down appearance on the progressive political podcast only adds to the deluge of criticism he and other Democrats have already faced for the response to the fires.

The episode, in which Newsom discusses the crisis in his state for more than 30 minutes, appeared on Saturday. But it was a preview clip, posted to Pod Save America’s X account on Friday night, that first stoked controversy.

Pressed by host Jon Favreau about his response to the fires, Newsom seemed to pass the blame onto Southern California’s local leadership.

“I want to get the answers,” Newsom says in the clip. “And I’ll be candid with you, I wasn’t getting straight answers.”

“We had my team start talking with local leaders, saying, ‘What’s going on?’ I was getting different answers. When you start getting different answers, then I’m not getting the actual story.”

Newsom’s remarks aside, many people in the comments below the post were incensed that he would take the time to go on a podcast amid the wildfires.

“Wait, Newsom did a podcast today?” wrote user @Estril01. “He couldn’t find a better way to use his time?”

The sentiment was echoed by user @DavidSh66283242, who wrote, “Going on a podcast while the fires are still burning? Guys this is embarrassing.”

Many, including country musician Justin van Sant, suggested that the appearance was an effort to do damage control on Newsom’s political standing during the crisis.

“He such a slick politician,” van Sant wrote. “He’s no longer worried about saving lives, Newsom is solely worried about saving his political capital and saving face.”

Stephen L. Miller, a contributing editor at The Spectator, was quick to mock Newsom for appearing on the show

“‘I can’t talk right now. I have to go on Pod Save America,’” Miller, inhabiting Newsom’s perspective, wrote below the preview clip.

In a statement to the Daily Beast, the governor’s office defended the decision to go on the show as an awareness-raising endeavor.

“The Governor is solely focused on the response and getting out critical updates and resources wherever Californians get their news—it’s 2025, that includes one of the largest podcasts in the country, with hosts that call the impacted LA area home,” wrote Brandon Richards, a spokesperson for the governor.

The fires have killed at least 11 people, displaced more than 100,000, and destroyed around 12,000 structures, according to The Associated Press.

Donald Trump has been outspoken in blaming the Democratic governor for the fires (referring to him exclusively by the nickname “Newscum”).

However, the governor previously dismissed Trump’s criticism of him.

“People are literally fleeing, people have lost their lives, kids lost their schools, families completely torn asunder, churches burned down,” he told CNN on Thursday. “This guy wanted to politicize it.”

On Friday, though, Newsom announced that his office would probe one of the complaints Trump has repeatedly raised—the fact that some fire hydrants ran dry as firefighters sought to battle the flames.

In a letter directed to the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power—which Newsom posted to his X account—he wrote, “We need answers to how that happened.”

Appearing on the podcast, he explained the decision to investigate what went wrong wasn’t motivated by a desire to assign blame.

“Let’s just get the facts and let’s get ‘em out quickly,” he told Favreau. “Let’s stop the finger pointing. Let’s just assess the truth. I’m not interested in who’s to blame. I wanna know what happened.”

Newsom said his main focus right now, though, “is saving lives and making sure people get out.”