Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-Calif., said he was worried about the “overindulgence” of the Donald Trump hush money trial and suggested focusing on the former president could give him an electoral advantage.
MSNBC host Jen Psaki asked the governor about a “chorus” of people who think the hush money trial is only helping Trump politically, which she said was driving her “crazy.” She questioned what Newsom might tell an undecided voter about why the case should matter to them.
Newsom argued it should matter, but said Trump “doesn’t care if he’s the hero or the heel, he just wants to be the star.”
“When we are focusing on him, I do worry electorally that he has a slight advantage. And so, I am a little concerned about the overindulgence around the day-to-day. I get it, I totally get it. The consequential nature of a criminal trial is profound and outsized in some respect, but not more outsized than democracy, more outsized than Dobbs,” he said, referring to the Dobbs decision, which overturned Roe v. Wade.
Gov. Gavin Newsom said the focus on Donald Trump throughout the hush money trial could give him an electoral advantage. (Screenshot/MSNBC)
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Newsom said the focus on Trump was also not more important than RFK Jr. gaining ballot access in Michigan, an important swing state.
“So, I tend to be in that camp, a little less is more, as it relates to our obsession and focus on putting any more bright lights on someone who seeks them, no matter how ill-conceived or ill-willed or ill-fated his current standing might be,” Newsom said of Trump.
Psaki opened the discussion by noting Trump would be forced to “sit quietly through his criminal proceedings” this week as jury selection was completed, and opening arguments are set to begin on Monday.
Twelve jurors were seated on Thursday at the end of the third day of jury selection, and all alternate jurors had been selected and sworn in by Friday, Fox News Digital previously reported.
Former President Donald Trump attends the first day of his criminal trial, at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City on April 15, 2024. (Angela Weiss/AFP via AP Pool)
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Psaki also asked Newsom about RFK Jr.’s candidacy and if he was worried about him hurting Biden’s chances.
“He is a Kennedy. We revere Kennedys. At least I do,” he said. “At the end of the day, common sense would dictate it’s real. Jill Stein is real. Cornel West is real. We know that, those were determinative, those third parties, in these last elections.”
Newsom warned that if RFK Jr. gets on the ballot in other states, especially swing states, Democrats need to take it “very, very seriously.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks in Sacramento, Calif., Jan. 10, 2023. (AP Photo/José Luis Villegas)
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Newsom told Psaki during the interview that he would be focusing a lot of his time on helping Biden win Arizona and Nevada, where he said abortion was going to play a big role.
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