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Gavin Newsom says he will not run for president in 2028 if Kamala Harris does

Read the original at The Guardian ↗
Cite

Planas, R. (2026, September 15). Gavin Newsom says he will not run for president in 2028 if Kamala Harris does. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/sep/14/gavin-newsom-president-kamala-harris

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

The Guardian · collected 2026-09-15 · by Roque Planas

Quick Summary

Gavin Newsom stated that he will not seek the presidency in 2028 if Kamala Harris runs, as reported in an interview with CNN. Both are seen as leading candidates within the Democratic Party. Newsom emphasized that running against Harris would be counterproductive and a "gift from God" to their political opponents. He made this statement while fly fishing with Jake Tapper in Montana, reflecting on his readiness for a presidential bid and the importance of representing the current political moment effectively.
Written by AI on 2026-09-15, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Gavin Newsom, the governor of California, said he would not run for president in 2028 if Kamala Harris decides to enter the race. In a CNN interview while fly fishing in Montana with Jake Tapper, Newsom stated that running against Harris, who has already run twice and lost, would be counterproductive and would likely weaken both their candidacies by dividing California's Democratic voter base. He emphasized there is significant overlap between their supporter bases, making simultaneous runs detrimental to both. Newsom noted he will decide whether to run after the 2026 midterms but would respect Harris's decision if she chooses to run again.

Written for “Newsom Harris 2028 Presidential Pledge” on 2026-10-31, grounded in this article and the 9 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Newsom Harris 2028 Presidential Pledge
Politics · 10 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
NBC News
Hedges 0 of 19 claims Outlet record 60/100
The Independent
Hedges 1 of 25 claims Outlet record 59/100
The Straits Times
Hedges 1 of 11 claims Outlet record 66/100
Washington Examiner
Hedges 0 of 24 claims Outlet record 70/100
Los Angeles Times
Hedges 7 of 35 claims Outlet record 95/100
South China Morning Post
Hedges 0 of 3 claims Outlet record 64/100
Daily Mail
Hedges 1 of 26 claims Outlet record 68/100
Washington Examiner
Hedges 12 of 69 claims Outlet record 70/100
New York Post
Hedges 0 of 12 claims Outlet record 66/100
“Article A reports on Newsom's statement about not running for president if Kamala Harris does, while Article B discusses a poll showing Newsom's declining support for a presidential bid in 2028.”
Daily Mail
Hedges 0 of 39 claims Outlet record 68/100
“While both articles discuss Gavin Newsom's statement about not running for president in 2028 if Kamala Harris does, they provide different details and contexts.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
21
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 21 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
66/100
The Guardian's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
10
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-15 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Guardian · 1863 article(s) · 6 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 6 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Roque Planas
9 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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🔮 Images of the construction obtained by the No Big Bend Wall coalition show a towering fence standing in isolation, that anyone could easily walk around on either side.
🔮 Gavin Newsom, the California governor, will not run for president if former vice-president Kamala Harris does, he said in a forthcoming interview with CNN.
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🔮 The department immediately placed the officer on administrative leave and began a criminal investigation into his actions, Joseph said. “I was furious that an officer would betray the public’s trust in that manner, that he would not understand how serious of a violation that is,” Joseph said.
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🔮 “Plaintiffs argue that their termination will chill the protected expression of themselves and others at Stripes,” McFadden wrote.
Also by Roque Planas
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 9 articles by Roque Planas →

Topics

CNN California Democratic Montana Republicans

Subjects

Newsom PERSON · 10× Harris PERSON · 5× Trump PERSON · 5× California GPE · 3× CNN ORG · 2× Democratic NORP · 2× Gavin Newsom PERSON · 1× Jake Tapper PERSON · 1× Kamala Harris PERSON · 1× Tapper PERSON · 1×

Narrative

And he used a redistricting ballot initiative in California to help lead a national response to Trump’s attempts to manipulate the upcoming midterm elections by gerrymandering districts in conservative states to favor Republicans even more heavily.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-15
🔮 Gavin Newsom, the California governor, will not run for president if former vice-president Kamala Harris does, he said in a forthcoming interview with CNN.

Claims (21 extracted, 0 hedged)

Gavin Newsom, the California governor, will not run for president if former vice-president Kamala Harris does, he said in a forthcoming interview with CNN. asserted
he → run → CNN
Newsom and Harris, both from California, are widely viewed as two of the top establishment frontrunners in the coming Democratic presidential primary. asserted
Newsom → view → primary
Newsom, who terms out this year as governor, has increasingly portrayed himself as a foil to Trump and is widely viewed as positioning himself for a 2028 presidential bid. asserted
who → term → bid
But Newsom said running against Harris would waste voters’ time and act as a “gift from God” to their political opponents, he said. asserted
he → say → opponents
“I wouldn’t do that to her,” Newsom told Jake Tapper, a CNN anchor. asserted
Newsom → do → Tapper
“I wouldn’t waste everybody’s time.” asserted
I → waste → time
“The zen [sic] diagram on that, it’s pure cross over,” Newsom said. asserted
Newsom → ’ → that
“I wouldn’t do that to people.” asserted
I → do → people
Newsom said he considered running in 2024, but that he “wasn’t ready” and that he was still assessing whether he will be ready for the coming presidential primary. asserted
he → say → primary
“You have to meet the moment,” Newsom said. asserted
Newsom → have → moment
“You have to be honest with yourself. asserted
You → have → yourself
Do you represent the zeitgeist of the moment? asserted
you → represent → moment
Are you wasting everybody’s time?” asserted
you → waste → time
Newsom made the comments to Tapper while the two of them fly fished in the Bitterroot River of Montana, where Newsom’s in-laws own a ranch. asserted
laws → make → ranch
His apparent reluctance to challenge Harris belies his long push to gain a more prominent national profile. asserted
reluctance → challenge → profile
Newsom has adopted a more strident tone on social media, where he routinely takes jabs at Trump. asserted
he → adopt → Trump
He has cultivated political “influencers” to spread awareness of his message. asserted
He → cultivate → message
And he used a redistricting ballot initiative in California to help lead a national response to Trump’s attempts to manipulate the upcoming midterm elections by gerrymandering districts in conservative states to favor Republicans even more heavily. asserted
he → use → Republicans
Harris has stayed relatively quiet in comparison since losing her ill-fated presidential race against Trump in 2024, though she said publicly in July that she has yet to decide about whether to run. asserted
she → stay → July
She lost spectacularly to Trump in 2024, in an election tainted by Joe Biden’s late exit over concerns about his apparent cognitive decline. asserted
She → lose → decline
But Harris remains a household name and a serious contender for the Democratic presidential nomination. asserted
Harris → remain → nomination
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