On Tuesday, California Governor Gavin Newsom stated during a book tour event for his memoir “The Rush of Youth” that Israel is an “apartheid state” and that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu influenced President Donald Trump's decision to attack Iran.
Newsom told “Pod Save America” co-hosts Jon Favreau and Tommy Vietor that labeling Israel an apartheid state was appropriate.
“A lot of Democrats look at the Netanyahu regime and think, ‘You know what? We don't like the way he's running things. It's time to rethink the U.S.-Israel relationship, especially military support.’” Where do you stand?" Vito asked Newsom.
"Let's talk about this. But Bibi's perspective is interesting because his own house is in disarray. He's trying to avoid jail. He has an election coming up. He might be in trouble. He has hardliners who want to annex the West Bank—I mean, Tom Friedman and others. Properly speaking about this—a kind of apartheid," the governor responded.
Gavin Newsom speaks during a book signing for “The Young and the Restless” on February 28, 2026. (Benjamin Van Joy/Getty Images)
According to Newsom, Israeli leaders have “not even been able to deal with Hamas” over the past two years. Questioning whether they would pull off “regime change” in Iran?
“I want to be careful here. But you know, the implications of the context in which Trump ultimately ended up talking are in many ways self-evident,” he said.
Recent remarks by U.S. Secretary of State Rubio explain the Trump administration's decision to attack Iran. Newsom continued to demonstrate Israel's role in this decision.
“So Rubio may have said other things in the context of what he ultimately said. In terms of being drawn into these matters. But what I'm saying is, in this case, (it) doesn't surprise me,” he told the host.
“I don't know if it was Napoleon or someone else who said this about the sword. The only thing you can't do with a sword is sit on it. When you put two aircraft carriers there, you assemble forces like Trump has done over the past few weeks. They ultimately move in that direction, and I'm not surprised.”
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President Donald Trump attends a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington on January 29, 2026. (Ivan Vucic/AP Photo)
Following Newsom's response, Vito inquired whether the U.S. should ultimately consider “rethinking” its military support for Israel.
“It breaks my heart because Israel's current leadership is following us down this path. I think you have no choice but to consider it,” the governor responded.
“I mean, saying it's in America's interest. At a time when affordability is at a critical level. There's a truly elected government. Saying it's contrary to what they plan to do. The reality is, we're now in a regional war, all these proxies, we—you know, heartbreak and corruption are also a significant part of it,” Newsom added.
“That's the real conversation we need to have. This peace commission and what the Witkow family and Kushner got. And what little Trump got,” he added.
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Secretary of State Marco Rubio attends a Senate Foreign Relations Committee meeting at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, January 28, 2026. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP)
In an interview with reporters on Monday, Rubio described the Trump administration's decision to strike Iran as follows: “We know Israel will act. We know this will trigger attacks on U.S. forces. And we know that if we don't hunt them down first... we will suffer more casualties.”
He emphasized on Tuesday that the decision ultimately rests with President Donald Trump.
“The president has decided we won't go first,” Rubio said. “If you tell the president of the United States that if we don't go first, we'll have more deaths and injuries, the president has to go first.”
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