Newsom Wades Into Israel Debate as He Shapes Potential 2028 Profile

Gov. Gavin Newsom has never shied away from politics that go beyond the borders of his current job. As mayor of San Francisco 20 years ago, he repeatedly attended the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

As governor, he’s continued to insert himself into geopolitics, particularly as a contrast to President Donald Trump on climate, including a China trip in 2023 and last year’s visit to Brazil for the U.N. Climate Conference, COP30.

Part of that engagement can be chalked up to California’s size and international economic relevance. The state, Newsom loves to say, “punches above its weight.” If it were a country, it would rank fourth in GDP after the U.S., China and Germany.

But as Newsom eyes a potential 2028 presidential run — and positions himself as the Democratic Party’s chief foil to Trump — he also seems to be wading deeper into foreign policy. Even on issues that are politically sticky, like U.S. support for Israel.

It’s a pivot any governor looking toward higher office has to make, said Dane Strother, a longtime Democratic political consultant.

“When you reposition from governor toward the more national fields and position, you don’t become someone you’re not, but you explain who you are in a different way,” said Strother, who has worked for Democratic heavyweights including former President Bill Clinton and former Vice President Al Gore.

Strother cited examples: Ronald Reagan reassuring voters he wouldn’t go after Social Security or Medicare. Bill Clinton branding himself as a “New Democrat” who supported welfare reform and tough-on-crime policies. George W. Bush painted himself as a “compassionate conservative.”

“Gavin’s chiseling out right now his national identity,” Strother said.

Liz Mair, a Republican consultant who has advised three presidential candidates — the late Arizona Sen. John McCain, former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and former Texas Gov. Rick Perry — said it’s not always an easy transition.

“McCain already had much more of a national profile, largely because of having been a POW,” Mair said. “But for everybody else, they have to somehow translate from the state level up to national. And it’s a really big leap. There’s a huge learning curve there. I think even (for) governors of big states … it’s not something that is automatically easy.”

That could be particularly true, Mair said, coming from California, which many voters view “as so far off in left field.”

That means minefields ahead — for Newsom and the many other Democratic governors looking at a 2028 run. Take Newsom’s recent comments on Israel during his book tour for his memoir, Young Man in a Hurry.

At an onstage interview in Los Angeles with Pod Save America, Newsom was asked whether Israel pushed the U.S. into war with Iran.

“The issue of Bibi (Netanyahu) is interesting because he’s got his own domestic issues. He’s trying to stay out of jail. He’s got an election coming up,” he said, adding that Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces pressure from hard-line allies who want to annex the West Bank. “I mean, (New York Times columnist Thomas) Friedman and others are talking about it appropriately, sort of an apartheid state.”

Then in the same interview, he responded this way when pressed on whether the U.S. should reconsider its military support for Israel: “It breaks my heart because leadership in Israel is walking us down that path, where I don’t think you have a choice but that consideration,” he said.

Those comments, particularly his use of the word apartheid, prompted outrage from some Democrats. One member of Congress asked if it’s “really worth throwing Jews under the bus to advance your political ambitions?”

But for Democratic critics of Israel’s war in Gaza, Newsom’s comments reflect what they see as a moral and necessary political pivot. Tariq Habash resigned from the Biden administration’s Department of Education over its unwavering support for Israel and co-founded A New Policy, a nonprofit lobbying organization aimed at changing U.S. policy toward Israel.

Habash noted public opinion on Israel has shifted to be more critical of Israel’s government and more sympathetic to Palestinians, particularly among the Democratic base. There’s also evidence that Biden’s support of Israel cost Kamala Harris votes in the 2024 election. (We dug into this shift on last week’s Political Breakdown podcast roundtable.)

“I think that Gov. Newsom is actually doing what he needs to do,” Habash said. “Democrats are largely recognizing that they need to shift on the issue of U.S. policy towards Israel and Palestine.”

Newsom did walk some of his comments back — sort of. At a subsequent book tour event in New Hampshire, Newsom — a longtime self-described supporter of Israel (he stopped there in 2023 on his way to China, in the wake of the Oct. 7 attacks) — underscored that support. Then, he made clear his objection is to the way Netanyahu is leading Israel, particularly on the annexation of the West Bank.

A spokesman for Newsom this week highlighted the nuanced position the governor is trying to carve out: separating Israel from its current leadership.

“The Governor is calling out a difficult truth: Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu’s maniacal paths to secure their own political futures are taking Israel — a democracy and America’s critical ally — down a course that threatens the future and safety of Israel, as well as Israelis and American Jews,” spokesperson Izzy Gardon said.

Strother said that Newsom hasn’t brought up the Israel question himself — he’s been asked about it. But the governor did preemptively weigh in on Trump’s war in Iran, condemning the attacks while positioning himself as an ally of California’s large Iranian diaspora.

But Strother and Mair agreed that at the end of the day, foreign policy is unlikely to be the biggest factor for any presidential candidate in 2028.

“By and large, voters don’t give a shit about foreign policy. Some very vocal ones do, but that’s not really what they’re voting on,” Mair said.

“The price of gas, the price of food … Americans are hurting right now and foreign policy is not going to get anyone elected,” Strother said.