Newsom Says He Won't Run in 2028 If Harris Does
Gavin Newsom says he will not run for president in 2028 if Kamala Harris runs.
His exact words to CNN's Jake Tapper were, "I wouldn't run if she ran." The taped interview was published on 14 September, with CNN reporting the remarks as an exclusive. CNN
Tapper spoke to the California governor while fly-fishing in Montana. He asked what it would take for Newsom to enter the 2028 race. Newsom prefaced his answer with, "I don't know if she runs, but we'll see." Deadline
Tapper repeated the line back to him. He said he was stunned. Newsom doubled down on the answer. Politico
A clip of the exchange was posted on Monday, 14 September. Bloomberg
Newsom pointed to overlapping supporters. He described the Venn diagram of their bases as "just pure crossover." A contest between them, he said, would favour their rivals and would be electorally "a gift from God for everybody else" and "mutual assured destruction."
He also looked back to 2024. Newsom said he was not ready to run against Donald Trump then and would have "gotten crushed" because he did not have a why.
This is not the first time he has ruled out running against Harris. In 2023 he told moderator Chuck Todd, "Of course not. By definition, it won't happen." Harris herself said in July 2025 that she would not run for California governor the following year, and she had not ruled out a 2028 White House bid at that point. Deadline Both Newsom and Harris are now reportedly considering runs for president in 2028.
What makes this stand out for viewers is the setting and the directness. A long-range campaign question, asked on a river in Montana, got a one-line answer. Tapper's surprise said the rest.
