California Gov. Gavin Newsom went on "The Axios Show" Thursday to wave away any suggestion that he and former Vice President Kamala Harris don't get along, calling the very premise of the question "preposterous." But the interview kept circling back to a specific grievance: a passage in Harris' memoir that paints Newsom as the fellow Democrat who wouldn't pick up the phone when she needed him most.
The exchange, reported by Fox News Digital, centered on Harris' book "107 Days," in which she claimed Newsom did not return her call after President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 presidential race. Axios correspondent Alex Thompson pointed out during the interview that Harris had "took a shot" at Newsom in the memoir, and Newsom didn't exactly disagree.
What followed was a masterclass in political deflection. Newsom acknowledged the slight, offered his own version of events, questioned Harris' motives for including it, and then insisted, repeatedly, that the two California Democrats are just fine. For anyone watching the early maneuvering toward the 2028 Democratic presidential primary, the performance raised more questions than it answered.
Newsom did not dispute that Harris tried to reach him after Biden's exit from the race. He disputed what happened next. As he told Axios:
"She gave me a little shot as it relates to the actual truth of the walk I was on. And I remember texting her back. I said, 'Kamala, I've already put out a statement supporting you. I'm the last person you needed to talk to.'"
So Newsom's account is that he texted Harris back, had already endorsed her publicly, and considered himself the least important call on her list. Harris' memoir, by his own admission, tells a different story, one in which the governor of the nation's largest state went silent at a critical moment.
Newsom then turned the knife back toward Harris, suggesting the passage was more about book marketing than historical accuracy:
"But, for whatever reason, she added that in. I think it created some color for the book. It certainly helped her book sales, not my component part, but that book has done unbelievably well."
That's not exactly a denial wrapped in warmth. Newsom effectively accused Harris of embellishing a personal slight to move copies of her memoir. He acknowledged he hadn't read the full book, only "read excerpts", which itself carries a message. When a fellow party leader writes a memoir and you can't be bothered to read it, the relationship may not be as cozy as advertised.
Newsom and Harris began their political careers in California. He described their working relationship as stretching back decades. He pointed to introducing her at the Democratic National Convention as the "ultimate affirmation" of their bond. But even his own words reveal a dynamic that reads less like friendship and more like a carefully negotiated truce.
As the Washington Examiner reported, Newsom said plainly of their political relationship: "She goes first." He expanded on the point during the Axios interview:
"When she goes, she goes first. And I've always understood that. And that's wonderful. I think the press and pundits want to make something of that, and so they try to color it in."
Wonderful. That's the word Newsom chose for a political arrangement in which he has spent years deferring to Harris' ambitions. Whether he believes it is another matter. But the framing is revealing: Newsom isn't denying that their careers overlap and compete. He's insisting he's always known his place in the hierarchy, and accepted it.
That kind of deference gets harder to maintain when both figures are eyeing the same prize. And both are. Fox News Digital reported that Newsom and Harris are considered potential rivals for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination, though neither has officially declared. Newsom addressed the possibility during a CNN interview last month, and his comments on Axios only added fuel.
When asked about a future collision with Harris, Newsom offered this:
"That's... fate will determine that. And I've never gotten in the way of her ambition ever. I haven't. And I don't imagine I would in the future."
Then he added: "You only can control what you can control."
Read that again. "I don't imagine I would" get in her way. Not "I won't." Not "I'm not running." The hedge is doing a lot of work in that sentence.
The Newsom-Harris dynamic matters because the Democratic Party's 2028 bench is thin, and the two Californians sit at the top of it. Both carry significant political baggage. An NBC poll showed both Newsom and Harris deeply underwater as early 2028 jockeying began, a sign that the party's best-known names are also its most polarizing.
Newsom, for his part, has faced skepticism from across the political spectrum. Charlamagne tha God flatly dismissed Newsom's presidential ambitions in a widely discussed exchange, and Bernie Sanders has been among the prominent Democrats to undermine him. Harris, meanwhile, has her own intraparty problems, including sharp criticism from the Washington Post over comments directed at fellow Democrat Gov. Josh Shapiro.
The pattern is worth noting. Harris has shown a willingness to take public shots at Democrats she views as rivals or obstacles. Newsom, by contrast, plays the role of the gracious teammate, even when the teammate just dinged him in a bestselling memoir. Whether that patience holds through a contested primary is an open question.
Fox News Digital reached out to Harris' office for comment on Newsom's remarks. The article did not indicate whether her office responded.
Newsom disclosed during the interview that he is working on his own book, titled "Young Man in a Hurry." The title alone is a statement. At a moment when he's publicly insisting he's never gotten in Harris' way and has always let her go first, he's writing a memoir whose title signals ambition, urgency, and a man who doesn't wait around.
Harris' "107 Days" and Newsom's forthcoming "Young Man in a Hurry" may end up as competing narratives of the same political era, two California Democrats who rose through the same ranks, shared the same donors and networks, and now find themselves circling the same nomination. The unreturned-call episode is a small detail in the grand scheme. But small details in political memoirs are never accidental. Harris chose to include it. Newsom noticed.
And for all his talk of their decades-long friendship, Newsom's explanation of the episode was notably clinical. He didn't say Harris was wrong. He said she "gave me a little shot." He said it "created some color." He said it helped her sales. That's not a man defending a friend. That's a man keeping score.
The broader picture for Democrats isn't encouraging. Signs have emerged that the party may be ready to move on from Harris even as she positions herself for another run. If the party's two biggest names from its biggest state can't even agree on whether a phone call was returned, the 2028 primary could get ugly fast.
Newsom wants voters to believe the rivalry is a media invention. But Harris put the grievance in print, and Newsom spent an entire interview explaining why it wasn't fair. That's not what people do when there's nothing to see.
The Democratic Party's California wing has spent years presenting a united front while its two most prominent members quietly jockey for position. Newsom calls the tension "preposterous." Harris wrote a book about it.
When politicians tell you everything is fine, pay attention to what they do, and what they publish.
