California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) used an appearance on “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” on Tuesday to call President Donald Trump a “son of a bitch” as he suggested other Democrats need to show they are “willing to fight.”Newsom, who many think has ambitions for a presidential run in 2028, was given ample opportunity to attack Trump as host Stephen Colbert praised the Democratic governor’s recent “being interesting” strategy.Colbert highlighted Newsom’s repeated trolling and parodying of the president on social media, including a post of an image of Newsom carved in stone on Mount Rushmore that mimics Trump’s bombastic style. The host noted Newsom’s approval rating has surged since the summer, and asked why he thinks his new approach resonates with voters.“[Trump] is flooding the zone, he is dominating the narratives, facts don’t seem to matter, and Democrats, frankly, have had a difficult time pushing back,” Newsom began.He added, “There’s sort of this weakness that dominates our brand and our party. I think what people appreciate is that we’re willing to fight. And not only fight symbolically by having a little bit of fun, but fight substantively. We have 41 lawsuits against the son of a bitch.”After loud cheers, Newsom continued, “We’re not gonna listen to this guy. We’re not going to listen to him try to pronounce acetaminophen.”Trump struggled to pronounce the primary ingredient in Tylenol earlier this week when he made highly criticized comments speculating that the drug is linked to pregnancy and autism, which health experts have refuted.In another exchange, Colbert asked Newsom about his outreach beyond Democrats, including by having the late right-wing pundit Charlie Kirk and Steve Bannon, chief architect of the MAGA movement, as guests on his podcast, “This Is Gavin Newsom.”Newsom told Colbert he “got a lot of grief” for having Kirk and Bannon on as guests, and attempted to justify his conversations with his political opponents.“Success leaves clues. They were successful in the last election. People need to understand what motivates them,” Newsom said, praising the “coalition” of young men Kirk built.“It’s important to learn from your opponents, and it’s important to reconcile your weaknesses. As a Democratic Party, we have a lot of work to do to make up for our failures in the past,” he added.Newsom issued the warning to Democrats in the context of predicting that Trump is trying to “rig” the midterm elections and will attempt to stay in office after his second term ends.“I fear that we will not have an election in 2028 — I really mean that, in the core of my soul — unless we wake up to the code red [of] what’s happening in this country, and we wake up soberly to how serious this moment is,” Newsom said.Close