"Steve Bannon espouses hatred and anger"— Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear criticizes Gavin Newsom for inviting MAGA leader to his podcast

Andy Beshear, the governor of Kentucky, recently criticized California Governor Gavin Newsom's choice to include MAGA leader Steve Bannon on the most recent episode of his new podcast. Addressing the same, Beshear stated that Bannon's voice shouldn't be raised "on any platform ever, anywhere."

Beshear's remarks came just before he addressed House Democrats attending a strategy retreat in Northern Virginia on Thursday, March 12. On that same day, during the same event, the Times reported that Beshear stated:

"I think that Gov. Newsom bringing on different voices is great.. We shouldn't be afraid to talk and to debate just about anyone. But Steve Bannon espouses hatred and anger and even at some points violence, and I don't think we should give him oxygen on any platform — ever, anywhere."

The above remarks followed Gavin Newsom's hosting of Steve Bannon during his podcast on March 12. Bannon mostly discussed Trump's approach and next move. For context, Beshear is a Democrat who was screened to be the running partner of former Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024. He is being considered as a potential presidential candidate in 2028, whereas Bannon is a MAGA leader.

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Gavin Newsom invited MAGA leader Steve Bannon and was criticized by the opposition

Steve Bannon was interviewed by Gavin Newsom this week. According to a March 12 report by Bloomberg, many Democrats see Bannon as an authoritarian.

Hence, other political figures, like Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, voiced their disapproval of the interview. Beshear was addressing the conference alongside Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan and Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, where he condemned Newsom for the move.

Politico reported on the same day that Beshear told the reporters Gavin Newsom should not have allowed Steve Bannon to speak on the podcast he launched last month.

Later, as a reply to Beshear and in reference to Bannon's interview, Gavin Newsom told Politico the same day that understanding "Trump and Trumpism" was "critically important." He went on to say:

"I think we all agreed after the last election that it's important for Democrats to explore new and unique ways of talking to people."

Meanwhile, Newsom has been criticized by others besides Beshear. Adam Kinzinger, a well-known Trump opponent and former Republican Representative, tagged Newsom as "stupid" for inviting Bannon to appear on his podcast, I am Gavin Newsom.

On Wednesday, Kinzinger posted on his X account:

"I am in shock at the stupidity of [Newsom] inviting Steve Bannon on his podcast."

Kinzinger further referred to Bannon as "the author of this chaos we're seeing right now" in a video and said:

"Bannon is the one that says you need to 'flood the zone with sh*t… Bannon is the one that is basically the author of where we are and what Donald Trump wants. And because Gavin Newsom wants to run for president and thinks he's going to be this healer, he brings on this nationalist."

He further added:

"Many of us on the right sacrificed our careers taking these people on, and Newsom is trying to make a career with them. This is insane."

Newsom and Bannon's hour-long conversation concentrated on economic populism, exposing surprising similarities such as a mutual suspicion of corporate tax benefits and Elon Musk's power.

During the same, Bannon urged Gavin Newsom to adopt anti-oligarch measures and praised progressive Democrats like Rep. Khanna. Bannon also brushed off Trump's comments on the "printing press" deficit as a joke, but Newsom argued that Trump's leadership implied otherwise.

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Nevertheless, as of now, Bannon has not commented on the criticism received from his opposition party leaders.