Gavin Newsom is trying to beat President Donald Trump at his own game online, and CNN's Harry Enten said his strategy appears to be working.
The California governor has taken to mocking the president's social media posts by imitating his bombastic insults, which has baited Fox News hosts into underlining his point by criticizing them as unserious, and Enten told "CNN News Central" the effort has raised Newsom's profile as a presidential contender.
"I absolutely think it's showing signs of working, and let's take a look at the voters who know Gavin Newsom best," Enten said. "Those voters out in California, those California Democrats. California Democrats and Newsom for governor, you go back to 2023, just 35 percent wanted him to run for president. Look at the percentage now who are excited for a run for president for Gavin Newsom, what is that? That's a 40-point climb – my goodness gracious, a rising tide of support for Gavin Newsom."
"Remember back in 2023, the majority of Democrats did not want Joe Biden to run for another term, but California Democrats and Gavin Newsom's own state did not want him to run, either," Enten added, "and now 75 percent are excited for him to run, and more than that, he's getting a higher percentage of the vote than Kamala Harris in her home state. He is beating the former vice president, who, of course, was the Democratic nominee in 2024. As I said, a rising tide of support for the California governor."
Enten conceded the next presidential election was still more than three years away, but he said the polling still showed a significant trend.
"Why is it so important?" he said. "Because I want you to take a look. It's one of those benchmarks, the home-state polling for presidential candidates. If they can't win the primary in their home state, they ain't going to win anywhere. What are we talking about as nominees in home state primaries? All of them won all the nominees won, and all of them led in the early polls. So, yes, winning California is not tantamount to winning the nomination, but it is one of those stepping stones that you have to make it to if you, in fact, want to win the nomination historically, and, of course, in California, it has the most delegates out of any of the states that, of course, take part in the Democratic primary."
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