Newsom Says JD Vance Is More Dangerous Than Trump for One Reason — Now Critics Can’t Stop Arguing About the Line He Crossed to Be the ‘Chosen One’
California Governor Gavin Newsom has never held back when it comes to criticizing President Donald Trump. He has often spoken out strongly against him. But recently, Newsom’s attention has started to move in a different direction.
Instead of focusing only on Trump, Newsom is now pointing to Vice President JD Vance as someone people should be paying closer attention to. Many supporters of the MAGA movement see Vance as the person who could carry Trump’s legacy forward in the future. Newsom believes that the real danger may not just be the current president, but the person who could take over and continue or even expand — his agenda.
In a recent interview, Newsom said that Vance does more than simply copy Trump’s style and ideas. According to him, Vance may go even further in some ways. That comment quickly sparked strong reactions online, with people debating whether Vance is truly more extreme or simply a new face of the same political movement.
During a sit-down interview with Jen Psaki on MSNB C, Gavin Newsom did not focus only on Donald Trump. He turned his attention directly to Vice President JD Vance and explained why he believes Vance could be even more concerning.
Psaki asked him about others in the MAGA movement who may be hoping to take over Trump’s position in the future. She mentioned that some Republicans are waiting for their moment to step into Trump’s inner circle and carry the movement forward. She specifically named JD Vance and Marco Rubio and asked Newsom whether he thinks they are capable of keeping the MAGA movement alive.
Newsom paused and answered carefully, but his words were clear and direct. He said that while he does not believe they can fully replace Trump, JD Vance worries him for reasons he cannot completely explain. He admitted that, in some ways, Vance frightens him even more than Trump does.
When Psaki asked him why, Newsom struggled to put it into exact words. He said Vance seems like someone who once wore a political “mask,” pretending to be something different, and over time that mask became who he really is. It was a sharp and blunt way of suggesting that Vance changed himself to fit the MAGA movement.
Newsom went on to point out that JD Vance and Marco Rubio were once strong critics of Donald Trump. He also mentioned Lindsey Graham, noting that all of them had spoken out against Trump in the past before later supporting him. Newsom called them frauds and phonies for changing their positions. However, he described Vance as different from the others. In his view, Vance is not just pretending — he may be more strategic and potentially more dangerous.
After the interview aired, people online quickly began debating Newsom’s comments. Some agreed with him. One social media user wrote that Vance lies more smoothly than Trump, suggesting that his calm and polished style could make him harder to challenge. Others pushed back, arguing that Newsom was exaggerating. The discussion quickly spread across social platforms, with strong opinions on both sides.
Another user on Threads shared a similar opinion, questioning JD Vance’s character.
The person agreed strongly with Newsom and went even further, claiming that Vance has no real sense of identity. They described him as someone who has struggled with knowing who he truly is, even into adulthood. According to this commenter, that lack of a strong identity makes him easy to influence because he does not seem to stand firmly on clear values or principles.
Another user, posting under the name WinterMint2022, was even more direct. They said Vance makes people uncomfortable because they believe he has no moral boundaries. In their view, he would support any idea or join any political movement if it helped him stay in power. The commenter compared him to Donald Trump, arguing that while Trump is often described as driven by ego and a need for praise, at least his motivations are easier to understand. They claimed that Vance, on the other hand, feels harder to predict and lacks consistency or integrity.
A different commenter brought up Vance’s connection to tech billionaire Peter Thiel. The person wrote that Vance was shaped and supported by Thiel, suggesting that this relationship is concerning. That claim is partly based on well-known facts. Peter Thiel, a major venture capitalist and influential Republican donor, was one of Vance’s earliest and strongest financial supporters.
In 2022, Thiel reportedly donated $15 million to Protect Ohio Values, the political group backing Vance’s Senate campaign. At the time, it was one of the largest single donations ever made in support of a Senate candidate. Thiel had also previously employed Vance at his investment firm, Mithril Capital. Reports later suggested that Thiel privately supported Vance during conversations about potential vice-presidential picks, helping raise his profile within Republican circles.
Because of this connection, online discussions grew even more intense. Some people argued that Vance did not simply adjust to align with Trump’s movement but may have carefully reshaped himself to climb the political ladder. Others dismissed those concerns as speculation. The debate over whether Vance adapted for political survival or genuinely changed his views continues to fuel strong reactions across social media.
What makes this shift even more surprising is JD Vance’s history.
Years ago, Vance was openly against Donald Trump. He was known as a “never-Trumper,” someone who strongly opposed Trump and his political style. Before entering politics, Vance became well known as the Ivy League graduate who wrote the best-selling memoir Hillbilly Elegy. In interviews and public comments at the time, he was sharply critical of Trump.
He once described Trump as “cultural heroin,” suggesting that Trump appealed to people in a way that felt powerful but harmful. He also accused Trump of selling false promises to working- and middle-class Americans. During Trump’s first term, Vance reportedly referred to him as “America’s Hitler” in private messages and publicly called him an “idiot.” In a 2016 interview, he said plainly, “I never liked him.”
But by 2021, when Vance was running for a U.S. Senate seat in Ohio, his tone had completely changed. He sought Trump’s endorsement and publicly expressed regret for his earlier comments. Critics say he reversed course to gain political support and move forward in Republican politics.
During the vice-presidential debate, Vance was directly asked about his past anti-Trump statements. He did not deny them. Instead, he admitted he had changed his mind. He said he was wrong about Trump and explained that when someone makes a mistake or changes their view, they should be honest about it. He presented his shift as growth rather than hypocrisy.
Governor Gavin Newsom, however, has argued that Vance is not alone in this kind of political turnaround. He also pointed to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham. Both men were once vocal critics of Trump during the 2016 Republican primary. Rubio, in particular, was recorded at a Super Tuesday event in 2016 calling Trump a “con man.” That video has recently resurfaced and spread widely online.
Over time, both Rubio and Graham became strong allies of Trump and supporters of the MAGA movement. To critics like Newsom, these reversals raise questions about loyalty, consistency, and political ambition. Supporters, on the other hand, argue that politicians can evolve in their views and that changing one’s mind does not automatically mean a lack of integrity.
“I will never give up trying to stop a con man from taking control of the Republican Party and the conservative movement that was shaped by Ronald Reagan.”
