California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom preached Thursday during an interview with MSNBC reporter Alex Wagner about why he appears on Fox News, calling it “demoralizing” at times.
Newsom appeared in an exclusive interview with “Alex Wagner Tonight” to discuss a range of political topics. During the discussion, Wagner asked the California governor why he chose to continue to make appearances on Fox News, questioning if he felt he was “making a difference.” (RELATED: ‘A Political Distraction’: Gavin Newsom Defends Keeping Trump On California’s Ballot)
“Do you feel like you’re making a difference when you go on Fox?” Wagner questioned.
Newsom responded that he “didn’t know,” prompting the two to joke about his “family dinners” with his Republican father-in-law. The California governor stated that due to his “love and respect” for people he disagrees with he is “listening to Fox,” calling it “hard” and “demoralizing” at times.
“Everybody wants to be loved, needs to be loved, right? I mean this fundamental notion, ‘Man, we’re just all human beings.’ And I have love and respect for people I disagree with. I don’t want to talk down or past anybody, quite the contrary. And I want them to know I’m listening as well — and I am listening to Fox. I do listen,” Newsom stated.
“And it’s hard, I mean it is hard. It’s demoralizing sometimes too. But the misinformation-disinformation is next level and I figured, ‘okay, you could just be in denial about that or accept it and just say, well that’s not the world I live in.'”
Newsom continued to state that he goes on platforms like Fox because he believes there is a need for Democrats and Republicans to “cross-pollinate.” (RELATED: Take A Look Inside The Secret ‘Homeless Caves’ Police And Volunteers Cleaned Out In California: REPORT)
“Well, there’s no leak on your side of our boat. We’re all in this together. And we have to cross-pollinate, and we have to define the term. Divorce is not an option — sorry, Marjorie Taylor Greene, or whoever said that. It’s not an option. We can’t afford that,” Newsom stated.
“So getting on those platforms, showing to the extent I can respect by showing up and then asserting myself because I do think we have to disabuse ourselves that we can just intellectually win by stating all these facts — goes back to the beginning of this conversation and statistics. We’ve got to get into the zeitgeist of how people are feeling and we’ve got to push back. We got to get into that bloodstream.”
The California governor previously appeared on a Fox News debate with Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and hosted by Fox host Sean Hannity on Nov. 30 for over 90 minutes. The red versus blue state debate reportedly ended with Newsom’s wife interjecting on behalf of the California governor, with DeSantis aids claiming that it was because Newsom had gotten “beat so badly.”
However, Newsom aides denied the allegations shortly after reports were released about the alleged interruption from multiple outlets. Additionally, leading up to the debate Newsom’s PAC ran TV ads hitting DeSantis on his abortion record in both Florida and Washington, D.C.