‘Anti-woke is anti-Black’: California Gov. Gavin Newsom calls out attempts to drag America back to pre-voting rights

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October 27, 2025

Brandon Caldwell, The Grio

“They’re putting America in reverse, to a 1960s world,” the governor told Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson.

(Office of the Governor of California, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

California Governor Gavin Newsom has been vocal about the Trump Administration and various policies and decisions since President Donald Trump assumed office for a second term in January. In a new interview with the “All The Smoke” podcast, Newsom isn’t mincing words about his thoughts regarding the conservative-majority Supreme Court and how it appears current government ideology isn’t moving forward but backward.

“They’re putting America in reverse, to a 1960s world,” Newsom told Matt Bafacts. It’s an unf–king-believable moment.”

“All this anti-woke stuff is anti-Black. Period. Full stop.”

He continued, “All the CRT, ESG, DEI stuff? That’s all this is. It’s this great purge, and it’s happening in real time, and I’m sitting here like, ‘Luckily, I’m Governor.’ But we’re not doing enough. We’re not calling this out, we’re not drawing a line here. It’s not about Democrats or Republicans, it’s about who we are. Right and g–damn wrong. Daylight and darkness.”

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