Gavin Newsom tells former NBA stars ‘anti-woke’ is just ‘anti-black’

Newsom made the comment during an interview with the "All the Smoke" podcast, hosted by former NBA players Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson, where he also accused the Supreme Court of "putting America in reverse" to the 1960s.

“All this anti-woke stuff is anti-black. Period. Full stop," he said. “All the CRT, ESG, DEI stuff? That’s all this is. It’s this great purge, and it’s happening in real time, and I’m sitting here and I feel like, you know, luckily, I’m governor, but like, we’re not doing enough. We’re not callin' this out, we’re not drawing a line here. And again, it’s not about Democrats or Republicans, it’s about who we are. Right and goddamn wrong. Daylight and darkness.”

As President Donald Trump took office in January 2025, he signed multiple executive orders that gutted DEI offices, CRT and other similar initiatives that took root during the Biden administration in multiple agencies.

The Trump administration has also taken colleges to task on DEI policies as the Department of Education has moved to cut funding from colleges that were engaged in discriminatory policies.

Newsom, who has been thought of as a potential 2028 presidential candidate, has been attempting to troll President Donald Trump on social media over the last few months, with posts coming from his press office in a style similar to what Trump puts out on Truth Social.

The trolling started after Newsom appeared to try and moderate his approach, inviting the late Charlie Kirk on his podcast and admitting that it is “unfair” when men who identify as transgender are allowed to play in women’s sports leagues.