Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear took a swipe Thursday at a fellow main Democrat, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, for internet hosting one of the vital outstanding figures within the MAGA motion on his new podcast.
Beshear, whose reputation in a closely Republican state has turned him into a possible presidential candidate, instructed reporters that Newsom shouldn’t have opened his platform to Steve Bannon, an outspoken advocate of the “America first” agenda of President Donald Trump.
“I think that Governor Newsom bringing on different voices is great, we shouldn’t be afraid to talk and to debate just about anyone,” Beshear mentioned at a Democratic coverage retreat in Virginia. “But Steve Bannon espouses hatred and anger, and even at some points violence, and I don’t think we should give him oxygen on any platform, ever, anywhere.”
The criticism of Newsom, who’s extensively anticipated to run for president, amounted to what might be an early skirmish within the subsequent Democratic main. It additionally displays divisions inside a celebration looking for its footing after Trump’s resounding victory.
The California governor not too long ago launched the podcast, which seems to some extent to be an effort to search out frequent floor with an ascendant conservative motion.
In his debut episode, talking to Charlie Kirk of Turning Level USA, Newsom drew widespread consideration — and criticism — for suggesting that Democrats have been flawed to permit transgender athletes to take part in feminine youth sports activities. He was additionally crucial of progressives who’ve known as for defunding the police or who use the gender impartial time period “Latinx.”
Newsom defended his strategy and the Bannon interview in an e mail assertion on Wednesday, saying it’s “critically important” to grasp Trump’s motion and the way it efficiently operated within the final marketing campaign.
Within the hour-long episode, Bannon repeated the debunked claims that the 2020 election was stolen amid a dialogue that additionally coated tariffs and taxes.
“I think we all agreed after the last election that it’s important for Democrats to explore new and unique ways of talking to people,” Newsom mentioned.
A spokesperson for Newsom, who plans to have Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on his subsequent episode, didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark about Beshear’s remarks.
The Kentucky governor, who was a featured speaker on the retreat together with Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, was not alone in criticizing the Bannon interview.
Former Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger, who was one of many few Republicans in Congress to problem Trump, known as it an “insane” determination to host Bannon.
“I am in shock at the stupidity of [Newsom] inviting Steve Bannon on his podcast,” Kinzinger mentioned Wednesday. “Many of us on the right sacrificed careers to fight Bannon, and Newsom is trying to make a career and a presidential run by building him up.”
