The 2028 podcast primary is underway as Democrats try to reshape their
image
[May 27, 2025]
By MEG KINNARD and ADRIANA GOMEZ LICON
The Democrats' 2028 podcast primary is well underway.
From Govs. Gavin Newsom of California, Andy Beshear of Kentucky and
Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan to former Transportation Secretary Pete
Buttigieg, potential presidential contenders are following the lead of
President Donald Trump, who frequently went on podcasts appealing to
younger men during his 2024 campaign.
Liberal strategists acknowledge Trump showed that Democratic candidates
need to master the podcast space, which is typically looser and more
freewheeling than a press conference or a traditional media interview.
“The way that politicians communicate and need to be seen by their
audience is changing,” said Liz Minnella, who fundraised for Democratic
nominee Kamala Harris and this year launched Connect Forward, a group to
support liberal influencers. “I hate to give him credit, but he found a
way to connect with people, talk to them like human beings in
non-political speak.”
Newsom, long derided by conservatives as a San Francisco liberal, has
welcomed conservatives onto his podcast and agreed with them on issues
such as trans participation in women's sports. Beshear, a lower-profile
Democrat in a red state, hosted his teenagers to teach him how to use
the youth slang “skibidi.”
The likely 2028 contenders have produced many hours of content already.
Here's a look at key moments and what we've learned about the field so
far.
Andy Beshear's ‘be you, boo’
Launching “The Andy Beshear Podcast” earlier this year, the Kentucky
governor now has hosted a donor, a former ambassador, businessmen he
calls friends and U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who ran for the 2020
Democratic presidential nomination.
He even brought on his two children to explain slang words high
schoolers are using, asking them to explain to him how to use terms like
“skibidi” to say something looks good, or “doing it for the plot” to say
you’ll be taking a risk on something despite a potentially bad outcome.
From his first episode, the 47-year-old politician outlines some rules
and says the first is “be authentic, you be you, boo.”
The governor did not respond to a request for comment on his strategy,
but has mostly taken a position of dissecting and broadcasting
opposition to Trump's policies, such as potential cuts to Medicaid and
the use of the Signal messaging app by the president's national security
team to discuss sensitive military operations.
In one of Beshear's most recent episodes earlier this month, his
producer asks the governor a frequent listener’s question: Will you run
for president?
“If it were three years ago, this was something that we would have never
thought about,” Beshear said, sitting beside his wife, Britainy. “But
I’m committed to not leaving a broken country to my kids or anyone
else’s. Now, what that looks like going forward, I don’t know. My job
right now is to try to lift up as many leaders as possible all across
the country that are hopefully focused on the right things with the
right message to re-earn the faith of the American people.”
Gretchen Whitmer talks about the hug
Whitmer recently appeared on “Pod Save America” for a shorter interview
than other contenders have done on podcasts. Whitmer had received some
backlash for sharing a hug with the president last month as he arrived
in her home state, less than a month after she shielded her face from
cameras during an Oval Office appearance alongside Trump.
Whitmer and Trump announced a new fighter jet mission at a National
Guard base outside Detroit that is seen as a major economic driver for
the area.
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Calif. Gov. Gavin Newsom presents his revised 2025-2026 state budget
during a news conference in Sacramento, Calif., Wednesday, May 14,
2025. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
“This is a BFD,” she said on the podcast, referencing if not
outright saying a profane phrase that starts with “big” and ends
with “deal.”
“It doesn’t mean I’ve abandoned any of my values. It doesn’t mean
that I’m not going to stand my ground and fight where we have to,
but this is one of those moments where as a public servant you’re
reminded your job is to put service above self and that’s what it
was all about.”
Gavin Newsom gives mic to MAGA figures
In February, California's governor launched “This is Gavin Newsom”
as what he called a mechanism for talking “directly with people I
disagree with, people I look up to, and you — the listeners.”
Thus far, he's had a wide array of guests, including former Trump
strategist Steve Bannon and conservative influencer Charlie Kirk, as
well as Klobuchar and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Harris' 2024 running
mate.
The conversations have mostly been chummy. Newsom — who has in
recent weeks broken with California's legislature and faced liberal
criticism for his positioning on trans issues, immigration and
homelessness — has fielded backlash for giving a platform to some of
his party's biggest critics.
Newsom has also drawn criticism for opposing the participation of
trans athletes in women's sports.
“I think it’s an issue of fairness, I completely agree with you on
that," Newsom told Kirk in his debut episode. “It is an issue of
fairness — it’s deeply unfair.”
The diverse guest list could be part of Newsom's attempt to
self-brand as a centrist ahead of a possible 2028 run, hearing out
conservative critics while trying to assume his party's mantle.
In March, the governor told HBO's Bill Maher that Democrats had
developed a “toxic” brand and criticized some in the party who are
unwilling to “have a conversation” with their opponents.
Buttigieg says Democrats need to reach ‘people who don’t think
like us'
Buttigieg's appearance on Andrew Schulz's “Flagrant” podcast came
months after the comedian sat down with Trump.
During his three-hour sit-down with Schulz, Buttigieg sported a
beard as he talked candidly about his personal life, describing his
experiences serving in the military before he came out publicly as
gay and raising his biracial children, even laughing along as Schulz
and other hosts cracked jokes related to homosexuality or asked
pointed questions about his personal life.
But mostly, Buttigieg — who spoke in Iowa earlier this month —
discussed his time in politics and accused Trump of failing to
deliver on economic promises from the 2024 campaign.
“We have to be encountering people who don’t think like us and don’t
view the world the way we do, both in order to actually,
legitimately, become smarter and better and make better choices and
have better positions, and just in order to persuade,” Buttigieg
said.
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Associated Press Polling Editor Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux in Washington
contributed to this report.
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