Newsom Says He’s Studying Bill Clinton’s Playbook as He Weighs a 2028 Run

California Gov. Gavin Newsom says he has been looking to former President Bill Clinton for political guidance as speculation grows over whether he will seek the presidency in 2028.

In an interview with Vanity Fair, Newsom called Clinton a “master of his craft” and said he studies the former president’s approach closely. “I watch videos of Clinton. I seek his counsel, his advice, and even in his absence, do that. I’ve been a student of his from day one,” Newsom said.

Newsom said the two talk by phone, often late at night, about policy and political strategy, including how to navigate California’s challenges. “He calls me late at night, wanting to talk about it, and he goes, ‘I’ve been thinking just nonstop about this. I just think you represent what they fear,'” Newsom said.

Newsom defended Clinton’s record as a problem solver despite the scrutiny Clinton has faced over his past association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and the Monica Lewinsky scandal from his time in the White House. Clinton has denied knowing about Epstein’s crimes or engaging in any wrongdoing. “[There is] no greater problem solver in that respect than Bill Clinton, in my mind. Master of his craft. Next-level,” Newsom said.

Newsom, who is in his final term as governor, told Vanity Fair he does not see himself as part of the Democratic establishment, instead describing himself as a political disrupter. “I’m notoriously a disrupter at heart,” he said. “I’ve never been for the status quo. Quite the contrary. I have a record that consistently challenges the status quo, and I tend to take risks to a degree that few elected officials do.”

A policy framework called Project 2029

Newsom also discussed a 36-page book of policy ideas he is writing, which he calls Project 2029 — a name that echoes the conservative Project 2025 framework associated with the MAGA movement.

“No one touches these,” Newsom said of the document. “These are my own little version. This is just policy, not narrative, the kinds of things we need to do: zoning reform, corporate tax, junk-fee stuff, new domestic strategies and tariffs, preschool things, a cap on childcare, family leave, paid sick leave, child tax credits, industrial decarbonization, anti-monopoly stuff, immigration, whistleblower protections.”

Newsom has previously said he will not run for president in 2028 if former Vice President Kamala Harris decides to run.

Reaction from Democratic strategists

Democratic strategist Doug Friednash told Fox News Digital that Newsom is right to look to Clinton’s example, especially as the party’s image has suffered among a broad swath of voters. “At a time when the Democratic Party brand is incredibly unpopular with Americans, Newsom would be wise to take a page out of Bill Clinton’s playbook recognizing that Democrats need to appeal beyond its progressive left,” Friednash said. He added a caveat: “Newsom’s challenge will be authentically casting himself as a disrupter when he has spent decades as part of the California political establishment.”

Democratic strategist Kaivan Shroff offered a similar assessment, saying Clinton’s political success came from prioritizing the country’s practical needs over the demands of activists or party leaders — a lesson he said Newsom appears to be absorbing. “Clinton’s lesson was that successful Democrats could move the party in new directions without losing touch with voters who did not speak the language of the activist left,” Shroff said. “Newsom seems to understand that distinction. The harder question is whether he can actually pull it off.”