Comedians Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang mocked California Governor Gavin Newsom’s chances of becoming president on the latest episode of their Las Culturistas podcast.
The episode was Yang’s first since his departure from Saturday Night Live last month. “It’s not going to be Gavin Newsom,” Rogers said as he and Yang discussed the California governor, presidential elections and the current state of U.S. politics.
Newsweek has contacted Newsom’s press office for comment outside regular working hours.
Why It Matters
Democrats have been divided and struggled to find their footing following the loss of then-Vice President Kamala Harris to Republican Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election.
Critics have said Harris alienated moderate voters, while others say the party was not progressive enough. Whoever leads the party in the 2028 election will have to contend with its deep divisions.
Newsom has emerged as an early hopeful for the 2028 Democratic nomination, alongside Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey, among others.
What To Know
In a 60-second segment of the podcast called “I Don’t Think So, Honey,” where the hosts or their guests “rant, rail, rave” about things in culture, Rogers said: “I don’t think so, honey: Gavin Newsom, if you’re gonna run for president, you need vocal surgery. You need to remove the polyps on your vocal cords. Listening to you is a nightmare. And I have a feeling you’re going to be talking a lot.”
“I don’t necessarily want that,” he continued. “I don’t think we will win with him. Just go to L.A., ask people how they feel being there.”
“Get vocal surgery,” Yang said, summing up Rogers’ comments, before adding, “And finish the d*** 405.”
Following the segment, Rogers continued his critique of Newsom, who has become known for posting on social media in a manner that mimics Trump.
“It’s a mess,” Rogers said. “I think that because he thinks he can like, troll Trump, or whatever and that people know who he is because he makes a f****** spectacle of himself, that he’s gonna be the one to lead us forward.”
“It’s not going to be Gavin Newsom,” he continued. “And anytime a politician is making it too obviously about themselves, I’m already done.”
“I must agree,” Yang added.
Yang also said on the podcast, “Let’s run Bernie again,” in reference to Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, an independent who ran in 2016 and 2020 and remains one of the more influential voices on the American left. Yang and Rogers praised Sanders and invited him onto the podcast.
Yang said that something he regretted from the early days of the podcast was his support of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who ran against Trump as the Democratic nominee in 2016.
Rogers also cast doubt on Democratic Representative Jasmine Crockett of Texas winning a Senate seat, adding that it’s “nothing against her.” Crockett is running in the 2026 U.S. Senate race in Texas, where a Democrat has not been elected statewide in over 30 years.
Rogers said he was not being “fatalist” about Democrats’ chances but did not want the party to “flop,” with Yang agreeing that “it’s not Gavin.”
“Let’s not flop by putting up what everyone said they hated in the beginning, which is an establishment, like, California Democrat,” Rogers said. “It doesn’t work.”
What Happens Next
The midterm elections are scheduled to take place in November and are set to serve as a litmus test as to where the country is politically.
