California Gov. Gavin Newsom responded with profanity when he learned that popular podcast host Joe Rogan texted in some questions for him to answer during a recent interview.
Newsom took part in a podcast episode with host Shawn Ryan on Monday, and he was forced to address his leadership during COVID. California, known for its free-wheeling lifestyle, had some of the most restrictive policies in place for over a year, starting in the spring of 2020.
Ryan noted as he began the interview that he allows all subscribers to his program to send in questions for his guests.
“I just posted a picture of us at breakfast, and about two minutes after I did the post, Joe Rogan texted me,” the former Navy SEAL said.
“Motherf*****!” Newsom exclaimed. “By the way, I’m a Joe Rogan fan. He ain’t a fan of mine, but I’m a Joe Rogan fan. No bulls***.”
The official added, “I feel like it’s a decade, back in the day, before Joe was Joe Rogan. He was just a podcaster, man. Now he’s a phenom.”
“Well, this is from Joe Rogan,” Ryan responded. “This is a tough one.”
Warning: This clip contains profanity and the taking of the Lord’s name in vain.
“Joe Rogan texted me: ‘Motherf*cker.’ Joe, by the way I’m a Joe Rogan fan. He ain’t a fan of mine… who will be held accountable for mandating Covid 19 vaccines for children, which were unnecessary and ineffective? And who will take responsible for the unprecedented increases in… pic.twitter.com/GN6GnW4CGf
— Shawn Ryan (@ShawnRyan762) July 14, 2025
Do you think Gavin Newsom will run for president in 2028?
“He won’t have me on the show, by the way,” the governor interjected before Ryan could start.
The host read Rogan’s question: “Who will be held accountable for mandating COVID-19 vaccines for children, which were unnecessary and ineffective, and who will take responsibility for the unprecedented increases in myocarditis and cancer cases among them?”
“Second to that, do you feel any remorse for that draconian decision that was obviously heavily influenced by the pharmaceutical companies’ desire for maximum profit?” Ryan asked.
Newsom first refuted that he was in any way beholden to the pharmaceutical industry.
“I’ve signed some of the most progressive laws against Big Pharma in the country,” he said.
The governor then tried to shift some of the blame to President Donald Trump and compared California’s actions favorably to Florida’s.
“California, like many states — red states included, Florida included — moved forward early in the pandemic, working with the Trump administration and the advisors from the Trump administration to impose certain strategies to mitigate the impacts of this novel disease, coronavirus,” Newsom said, noting that it was an uncertain time.
He continued: “I’ve asked our team to put together an objective review of everything we did right, everything we did wrong. We’re interviewing people that vehemently disagree with us, that opposed the mask mandates, that opposed the stay at home orders.”
Read: Newsom is interested in running for president, and he’s looking for some political cover, so he’s commissioned a study to try to find some good policies to highlight, while minimizing the others.
He did at least acknowledge to Ryan that his state was “aggressive” in implementing pandemic orders, and slower than other states in unwinding them.
Florida began lifting orders in September 2020 and sent their kids back to school, while California largely kept orders in place until June 2021, with most schools still in remote learning in the spring of that year.
When questioned about mandatory COVID vaccine policies, Newsom asserted that the injections were safe.
But as to Rogan’s question about how they might have negatively impacted some children, Newsom answered, “I respect that. And that was where there was a lot of feedback with a lot of experts that I had as advisers.”
“I took their advice, not as a doctor, but as a governor,” Newsom said. He also reiterated that he has a report coming out next month that will address his administration’s shortcomings during the pandemic.
“I know everyone’s a godd*** genius now in hindsight. But at the time, none of us knew what we were up against, including the president of the United States, who I worked very closely with. There wasn’t a Democratic governor in America that worked closer during the pandemic than I did with Donald Trump,” he argued.
Ryan questioned if there was one thing he could identify now as a misstep during that time.
Newsom answered, knowing what his administration later learned, that he would not have had the heavy-handed outdoor restrictions.
“What in the hell were we doing shutting down the beaches and open areas?” he asked.
Here’s what will happen next, politically. Newsom’s report will come out, and when questioned in the future about his draconian policies, he will point to the report and the Ryan interview and say something to the effect of, “I’ve admitted that mistakes were made. Hindsight is 20/20. If there is a next time, I’ll make better decisions. Let’s move on.”
But good for Rogan. He asked some questions that needed to be answered.
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