Tucker Carlson Says Donald Trump Thinks Gavin Newsom Could Win in 2028

Tucker Carlson’s break with President Donald Trump has added a strange new wrinkle to the 2028 guessing game: according to Carlson, Trump thinks California Gov. Gavin Newsom could actually win.

Appearing on “Alex Jones Live,” the former Fox News host said the president believes Newsom has a real shot at the White House, despite Trump’s years of publicly mocking him as “Gavin Newscum.”

“I know Trump is very convinced that Gavin has a shot,” Carlson said.

The remark stood out because Carlson and Trump are no longer moving in lockstep. Carlson backed Trump during the 2024 campaign, but the relationship has deteriorated over U.S. military involvement in Iran. Trump has since called Carlson a “low-IQ person” who has “lost his way.”

Carlson’s comment followed his own unexpected praise for Newsom during a recent conversation with comedian Jimmy Dore on “The Tucker Carlson Show,” where he called the governor “very charming” and predicted he could become the Democratic nominee.

Speaking with Jones, Carlson was far less flattering.

“He’s a sociopath who will say anything while passing a lie detector test,” he told the former InfoWars host.

“And he can talk,” Jones quipped. “Unlike Kamala Harris!”

Newsom has not formally announced a 2028 presidential campaign, though he is widely expected to run. Potential Republican contenders could include Vice President JD Vance or Secretary of State Marco Rubio, assuming Trump follows the constitutional limit barring a third term.

The conversation also touched on Carlson’s own future. Speculation about his political ambitions has grown as he has moved further away from Trump and the Republican Party.

“Of course, I’m not planning to run for president,” Carlson said. “I mean, of course, I’ve, you know, I’ve never said or done anything that would suggest I have an interest in political office because I don’t.”

Still, Carlson said he wants to be “involved in offering an option of some kind” in a future presidential election.

Carlson also praised Vance, saying he has “always liked JD Vance enormously” and calling him “really smart,” while describing Rubio less favorably. He framed the deeper issue as a political system that produces what he called “mediocre conformists.”

Last week, Carlson said he was done with the GOP, accusing the party of being “not loyal to the United States.”

“I voted Republican my entire life, I worked at Fox News,” he said during an appearance on the “Can’t Be Censored” podcast. “I’ve been a consistent defender for 35 years of the Republican Party, but there’s no defending this because it’s immoral.”