Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon chided California Gov. Gavin Newsom during a Wednesday appearance on "Pod Force One," arguing that "state leadership failures" should rule him out as a serious contender for the 2028 presidential race.
Dhillon also said that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., might be a "more promising" candidate for today's Democratic Party than the term-limited Democrat governor.
Dhillon, who previously lived in California, told host Miranda Devine that Newsom has established a record of failure. Unlike former President Barack Obama, Dhillon noted, Newsom can't run as an untested newcomer.
Instead, she said, he carries "notable personal foibles and failures," making a national campaign a tough sell.
"I think that there are other more promising, for the Democrat Party, younger politicians," Dhillon said. "I think AOC is one of those fictionally created-in-a-lab characters that may be a more promising one for them."
"I think that's the bigger threat," she added.
The next generation of Democrats includes figures who are "charismatic, attractive, [and] diabolical," Dhillon said, citing the emergence of New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani.
Newsom traveled to Washington, D.C., last week to seek an additional $34 billion in wildfire recovery funding from Congress. Homeland Security and Federal Emergency Management Agency officials declined to meet with him, underscoring Newsom's strained relationship with the Trump administration.
That friction has become a defining feature of the governor's waning tenure. Newsom and Trump have repeatedly clashed over wildfire aid, the state's energy grid troubles, violent anti-ICE riots in Los Angeles, and dueling online attacks.
Newsom has increasingly adopted the trolling social-media style made famous by Trump, fueling speculation that he is positioning himself for a 2028 presidential bid.
Meanwhile, Ocasio-Cortez is rumored to be weighing her own national ambitions, including either a White House run or a future challenge to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
Newsom currently leads the early Democrat primary field with 28% support, ahead of former Vice President Kamala Harris at 20%, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg at 11.5%, and Ocasio-Cortez at 8.5%, according to RealClearPolitics averages.
Dhillon noted that her view of Newsom's team was shaped in part by the false accusations lobbed at her after South Carolina Circuit Court Judge Diane Goodstein's home caught fire Oct. 5. Investigators have yet to determine the cause of the blaze.
Goodstein previously ruled against the Trump administration on a voter-data request before being overruled by her state's Supreme Court.
Before the fire, Dhillon posted on social media that her division "will not stand for a state court judge's hasty nullification of federal voting laws" and vowed to protect election integrity. Newsom communications director Izzy Gardon seized on the timing of that post, suggesting that Dhillon had "publicly targeted" the judge.
"They blamed me and Stephen Miller for that," Dhillon said on the podcast. "I actually had to contact police because of the threats."
Gardon responded by accusing Dhillon of "blatantly false implications" and demanded an apology, according to a New York Post report.
Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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