Gavin Newsom praises Kamala Harris, says he’ll work with Donald Trump

Gov. Gavin Newsom, a harsh, passionate critic of former President Donald Trump, said Wednesday he would "seek to work with the incoming president."

In a brief statement, Newsom praised Vice President Kamala Harris, saying she "stood up for working families, decency and opportunity.

"Though this is not the outcome we wanted, our fight for freedom and opportunity endures," he said.

While Newsom said he'd work with Trump, he added "let there be no mistake, we intend to stand with states across the nation to defend our Constitution and uphold the rule of law."

Trump won Tuesday's election as he swept, or appears poised to sweep, every swing state. He also appears set to win a majority of the national popular vote.

Newsom had been an outspoken advocate for Harris and, before he dropped out of the race, President Joe Biden. The governor, who is barred by term limits from running again, attended a number of Democratic campaign events in swing states, and his political action committees spent big on boosting Biden prior to his July exit from the race.

Newsom in '28?

Now that it's apparent that Trump will return to the White House, Newsom could be poised to resume his role as staunch defender of California's liberal values against a conservative Trump regime — and at the same time, quietly build the sort of support that leads to his party's presidential nomination.

"Trump's win removed the 'Harris complication' for Newsom," said Wesley Hussey, professor of political science at California State University, Sacramento.

Prior to Biden's decision to drop out of the race — and immediate annointment of Harris as his successor — Newsom had taken the sort of steps most potential presidential candidates take when they are thinking about a White House bid. He set up three political action committees , including one that could raise and spend money in unlimited amounts, to help fund his campaign-related activities. He traveled around the country to urge support for local candidates. He visited Democrats and the PAC ran ads in Republican-dominated states.

But Harris was an obstacle to any broader Newsom ambition.

She and Newsom had been climbing politically on roughly parallel tracks: He was mayor of San Francisco from 2004 to 2011, she was district attorney; he was elected lieutenant governor in 2010, she was elected attorney general. She was elected to the U. S. Senate in 2016, and he won the governorship two years later.

Then in 2021 Harris became vice president and heir apparent to Biden.

Perhaps not anymore.

"The 2028 Democratic presidential race likely will have a ton of candidates and no frontrunner," said Kyle Kondik, managing editor of Sabato's Crystal Ball, which analyzes political races.

Where Newsom stands

Newsom, Kondik said, would not start with any advantage as the party re-evaluates where it stands and where it should head.

This much is apparent: The governor will remain an important, popular national critic of Trump. He often served as nemesis to Trump in Trump's first term, and California filed more than a hundred lawsuits to block the Republican president's agenda.

Newsom's office did not respond to The Bee's request for comment on whether he has any public appearances planned following Harris's electoral defeat.

The governor, a prolific social media user, has been silent on X, formerly known as Twitter, since posting Tuesday evening urging voters to stay in line to vote. He also has been quiet on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.

.And at the moment, at least, few are ready to talk about 2028 or for that matter, Newsom's future. They're more concerned about where the party is headed.

"It is clear that the economic struggle working-class people are facing is causing real pain and neither party has sufficiently addressed it," said AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler.