At one point, while casually flicking the fly rod in his right hand, Tapper listed other California Democrats expected to enter the 2028 race, including former Vice President Kamala Harris.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s when Newsom dropped his bombshell: \u201cI wouldn\u2019t run if she ran,\u201d and then nonchalantly chewed the end of a fly.<\/p>\n
Whatever you think about that pronouncement \u2014 and we\u2019ll get to that \u2014 let\u2019s pause for a moment and luxuriate in the pure political theater.<\/p>\n
You’re reading the Essential California newsletter <\/p>\n
Sign up to start every day with California’s most important stories.<\/p>\n
By continuing, you agree to our Terms of Service<\/a>, which include arbitration and a class action waiver. You agree that we and our third-party vendors may collect and use your information, including through cookies, pixels and similar technologies, for the purposes set forth in our Privacy Policy<\/a> such as personalizing your experience and ads. <\/p>\n Just a rugged man in a stream<\/p>\n There is, of course, nothing nonchalant about the exchange. It\u2019s every bit as contrived and stage-managed as any Beltway TV studio, arguably more so.<\/p>\n And, yet, we\u2019re supposed to take from it that Newsom isn\u2019t just another stuffy old white dude in a suit. \u201cHe\u2019s a rugged man of the people, out there, you know, standing in a stream,\u201d said my colleague Mark Z. Barabak, a veteran political columnist who has covered every presidential race since 1980.<\/p>\n \u201cIf nothing else, it\u2019s very, very, very not San Francisco,\u201d Barabak said with a chuckle, adding, \u201cone could see, if one wanted, a bit of calculation there.\u201d<\/p>\n In some ways the moment \u2014 which has gone every bit as viral as Newsom and CNN\u2019s producers could have hoped when they released it Monday \u2014 sums up a candidate who frequently elicits a sharp cringe even from people who admire his politics.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s obviously very intelligent. He\u2019s very well versed on issues. He\u2019s terrific extemporaneously,\u201d Barabak said. \u201cBut he can come across as a little too slick, a little too polished, a little too Hollywood.\u201d<\/p>\n I first met Newsom in 2010, when he was running for lieutenant governor. Standing in front of you, making his pitch, he is very impressive.<\/p>\n A candidate with timeshares for sale<\/p>\n But there was also something about him \u2014 the slicked hair, the bleached teeth, the slightly too firm handshake \u2014 that made me feel as though he was about to sell me a timeshare. I vividly remember the struggle to keep a straight face.<\/p>\n I had the same sensation watching the fly-fishing interview. I love time in the great outdoors as much as the next guy, but come on.<\/p>\n During the interview, Newsom explained that if both he and Harris ran it would result in their \u201cmutually assured destruction.\u201d After all, they come from the same San Francisco Democratic political establishment and share many of the same donors, he said. Cannibalizing each other\u2019s supporters would be a \u201cgift from God\u201d to everyone else in the race, the governor added.<\/p>\n A possible course change?<\/p>\n Then Tapper offered the counter argument: Harris has already run twice and lost, she\u2019s had her shot. Maybe it\u2019s time to give someone else a chance.<\/p>\n Newsom, standing in the river in aviator shades, his dark blue shirt unbuttoned to the sternum, shrugged and acknowledged the point. \u201cThat would be the approach to the campaign, certainly, that would be the case you\u2019d make,\u201d he said, as if the thought hadn\u2019t previously occurred to him.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a pretty good one, actually,\u201d he added, upon reflection. \u201cThat\u2019s objectively true.\u201d<\/p>\n Wait a second. Was he gallantly offering to step aside? Or warning Harris against challenging him?<\/p>\n For the record, history does not favor another Harris run. As Barabak pointed out, no Democrat who has been the party\u2019s nominee and lost a presidential election, as Harris did in 2024, has won the nomination again since Adlai Stevenson did it in 1956. <\/p>\n He lost that presidential election, too.<\/p>\n Top stories The Brooklyn Blaze compete against the Dallas Dream in Long Beach on July 11. Alamitos Beach will serve as the 2028 Olympics\u2019 beach volleyball venue.<\/p>\n (Arwen Clemans \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n A Summer Olympics economic windfall is headed for SoCalThe 2028 Summer Olympics will generate up to $40.6 billion in increased economic output<\/a> and as many as 224,000 jobs for Southern California, according to a new economic analysis released Tuesday.The Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. study said that most of the expected job gains will come in positions that don\u2019t require a college education, including shuttle drivers, carpenters, bus drivers, security guards and construction laborers.Former Metrolink CEO claims rail service endangered passengers with unsafe equipmentA high-ranking former executive with Metrolink filed a lawsuit claiming he was fired after raising concerns over unsafe rail equipment<\/a>.The former executive also claims he refused to comply with directives that he believed would put passengers in harm\u2019s way and said that the rail authority\u2019s chief executive downplayed risks or dismissed them outright.Newsom signs first-in-nation standards for homes damaged by wildfire smokeMore newsCommentary and opinionEditor\u2019s pickMore picksThings to do Pupusas made with optional blue corn masa at Delmy\u2019s Pupusas in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n (Myung J. Chun\/Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n Today\u2019s recipe Vegan carrot and ginger soup.<\/p>\n (Stephanie Breijo \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n This creamy, punchy fresh carrot and ginger soup<\/a> is vegan and bright, but it\u2019s also hearty. It provides rich protein via the inclusion of white beans, as well as comfort and a bit of heat thanks to a balance of coconut milk, a walloping dose of fresh ginger and Calabrian chile paste. When finished with a squeeze of fresh orange juice, it\u2019s even more refreshing.<\/p>\n Question for you<\/p>\n What\u2019s your favorite place to see fall colors in California? Email us at essentialcalifornia@latimes.com<\/a>, and your response might appear in the newsletter this week.<\/p>\n Photo of the day (Ariana Drehsler \/ For The Times)<\/p>\n Games Here\u2019s today\u2019s mini crossword<\/a>, plus our other free, daily crossword puzzle, sudoku, word search and jigsaw games<\/a>.<\/p>\n Have a great day, from the Essential California team<\/p>\n Jack Dolan, investigative reporter How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@latimes.com<\/a>. Check our top stories<\/a>, topics<\/a> and the latest articles<\/a> on latimes.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Knee-deep in a Montana stream, leisurely casting for trout, two fellas in their late 50s did what guys…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":465740,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[7,2299,1085,891,2300,2297,340,2303,48,52,51,47,50,49,63,2302,1086,1459,2301,2298,74,225,315,688],"class_list":["post-465739","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-california","tag-civic-revolt","tag-covid","tag-covid-19","tag-days","tag-essential-california","tag-israel","tag-l-a","tag-la","tag-la-headlines","tag-la-news","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-headlines","tag-los-angeles-news","tag-los-angeles-times","tag-may","tag-pandemic","tag-part","tag-president-biden","tag-red-county","tag-san-diego","tag-state","tag-time","tag-years"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/465739","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=465739"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/465739\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/465740"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=465739"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=465739"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=465739"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"People](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1789575010_713_.jpeg\")
<\/a> <\/p>\n![\"Pupusas](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1789575011_710_.jpeg\")
<\/a> <\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1789575011_97_.jpeg\")
<\/a> <\/p>\n![\"Adam](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1789575011_439_.jpeg\")
Adam Fullick of the touring production of Broadway\u2019s \u201cWater for Elephants\u201d practices using a Cyr wheel at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre. The Times went behind the scenes of the show<\/a>, which boasts an ensemble with as many acrobats as actors. <\/p>\n![\"Mini](\"https:\/\/ca-times.brightspotcdn.com\/21\/ec\/25146a67473fbc80fa9a6e5bdb82\/minicrossword-kyle.svg\")
<\/p>\n
Hugo Mart\u00edn, assistant editor, fast break desk
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Andrew Campa, weekend writer
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters<\/p>\n