Term-limited California Gov. Gavin Newsom is very clearly testing the waters for a 2028 presidential run. While his book tour was ostensibly meant to help him connect with voters outside of the Golden State, it ended up just being filled with awkward, foot-in-mouth attempts to be relatable.
But Newsom might not only have himself to worry about if/when he hits the Democrat primary trail. His wife, self-proclaimed “First Partner” Jennifer Siebel Newsom, has been making headlines for all the wrong reasons lately as her past commentary about parenting, DEI, and… accidentally killing her sister as a child resurfaces.
On Wednesday’s show, Megyn was joined by Damilare Sonoiki and Stepfanie Tyler to discuss the bizarre comments and what it reveals about the left today.
‘First Partner’
Pretty much everything you need to know about Siebel Newsom was uncovered last year when her eschewing of the traditional “first lady” title became national news after her husband posted a birthday message on X calling her “the First Partner of California, the outstanding mother of our four incredible children, and the love of my life.”
While social media initially accused the Newsom of concocting the genderless title, it soon became clear that Siebel Newsom herself is behind the moniker. In her official bio on the governor’s website, she describes herself as the “first partner of California” – and explains why:
“Jennifer Siebel Newsom chose the title First Partner, as opposed to the traditional title of First Lady, to send a signal of inclusivity, recognizing that one day there will be a woman or LGBTQ+ Governor of California, and to elevate the importance of partnership and the need for, and benefits of, a caring, inclusive government.”
Her bio also distinguishes her as “an award-winning filmmaker and an influential thought leader on gender equality.” To the latter point, Siebel Newsom has made some head-scratching comments about gender.
In an undated interview that resurfaced on X earlier this month, Siebel Newsom explained that she made her sons play with dolls growing up and changed male protagonists to female in books she read them as part of her effort to “deconstruct… limiting narratives” surrounding gender.
“I’ve given our boys dolls, even if they tear the head off,” she said. “I’ve given them dolls to learn that care and caregiving is not just an activity that’s reserved for women, but that it’s also an activity that is a responsibility of men.”
“What I have done with both my daughters and my sons is if I’m reading a book and the protagonist is a male, I just change the he to a she,” Siebel Newsom added. “And it just normalizes for my sons, in particular, it’s not even… I don’t even just do it for my girls. I do it for my sons because I want them to see that women can be the center of a story, that women matter, that women are interesting.”
DEI Dilemma
And yet the first partner doesn’t seem to be as well-versed in “gender equality” issues as she lets on. In 2024, she said “every problem in society” could be fixed if more women were “making decisions” and called out Silicon Valley in particular:
“Like, every problem that we have in society right now will be fixed when women come together and partner with our male allies and other allies, but when more women are in the rooms, making decisions, changing the status quo, and transforming not just our culture but our society and our economy… I’ll give you one example. Look at Tech, at Silicon Valley. Had more women been early on in those companies, or at the tables of power making decisions, I don’t think we would have so much, or have allowed for so much sort of bigotry, racism, misogyny, and hate online… Think about who’s the victims online more often than not. It’s women, LGBTQ+, marginalized communities, women of color…”
Megyn said Siebel Newsom seems completely ignorant to the fact that women like Sheryl Sandberg and Susan Wojcicki held some of the most high-profile jobs in tech, while Sonoiki believes remarks like that lead men to turn to the controversial “manosphere”-type influencers proliferating social media feeds today.
“We’re all pro-women,” he said. “But when you see that type of dialogue… that’s how you have… the rise of all these ‘manosphere,’ ‘looksmaxxing,’ bone smashing, all this stuff. It is men feeling like they’ve been chased out, or they’ve been painted as the enemy.”
Tyler believes the messaging is also detrimental to women who aren’t interested in pursuing a career in corporate America. “‘More women in the rooms’ – what does that even mean,” she asked. “When I was in women’s studies, this is something that they talked a lot about. Basically, [they thought] it was a failure to be a stay at home mom. You need to be out there working.”
Tragic Empathy
But in perhaps the most stunning throwback clip to emerge, Siebel Newsom explains how she once tried to relate to juvenile offenders at a California state prison by sharing how she accidentally killed her sister in a tragic 1981 accident:
“I had to be very raw when we interviewed the young men who were juvenile offenders in San Quentin. I told them about my own loss, where I lost my older sister a few days before my seventh birthday and I blame myself for her death. And I share that because that– they ultimately were accused of committing these violent crimes and sentenced for life. And I think it shocked them that this, you know, blonde lady, who was, you know, interviewing them had a similar story, was perhaps in the wrong place at the wrong time… but wasn’t punished the way they were because, clearly, it was an accident. But theirs was probably an accident too. So anyway, I share that just because, I guess, you know, I quite enjoy spending time with people and being real and unmasking and showing them that it’s safe to unmask themselves.”
It is unclear when the first partner spoke to the inmates or recounted the experience. Reports indicate her 8-year-old sister Stacey was fatally struck by a golf cart Siebel Newsom, then 6, was in during a 1981 trip to Hawaii.
Megyn called the accident “horrifically tragic,” but said Siebel Newsom’s logic is all wrong. “Everyone who is in juvenile prison got there by accident. They committed just an accidental crime, all of them,” she asked. “There’s absolutely no accountability.”
Tyler said the cringe attempt to connect to prisoners is not unlike her husband’s now-viral effort to relate to black people by talking about his low SAT scores and trouble reading. Sonoiki said that was an epic fail. “I just want to say I can read,” he quipped. “So, I just don’t relate to Gavin on that level.”
But he believes Siebel Newsom’s reasoning is indicative of a larger pattern on the left. “I think it tells you a lot about how those kind of people… see the world, which is that nothing is anyone’s fault. It’s all an accident,” Sonoiki said. “I think it shows that a lot of people’s… politics can’t survive contact with reality.”
“If you’ve actually met people in prison or met people who have committed violent crimes, it’s usually not some innocent accident,” he concluded. “I think that just shows how out of touch she is.”
You can check out Megyn’s full interview with Sonoiki and Tyler by tuning in to episode 1,291 on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen. And don’t forget that you can catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM’s The Megyn Kelly Channel (channel 111) weekdays from 12pm to 2pm ET.