Couric Asks Newsom 'Are You Just Ridiculously Good-Looking?'

Alex Christy
March 6th, 2026 4:14 PM

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California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s presidential campaign trial run masquerading as a book tour took him to Katie Couric’s Next Question podcast on Thursday, where she expressed concern over Newsom’s reputation as “slick.” During that portion of the episode, the former CBS and NBC anchor would ask such difficult questions as “Are you just ridiculously good-looking?” and wonder if that plays into concerns about his authenticity.

Couric and Newsom talked over each other as Couric wondered, “So, what do you do about that? Do you, like, use less hair gel? What do you do? Do you have a Zoolander problem?”

Simultaneously, Newsom declared, “I don’t do anything about it. I let it go. No, I—Jesus. Yeah. Zoolander.”

 

 

Couric tried again, “Are you just ridiculously good-looking as Vogue said? No, seriously. What do you do about that?”

Again, Newsom insisted, “You don't do anything about it ‘cause if you're going to do something about it, then you're bullshitting people. You know what? I am who I am. And I'm—it's fine. You don't have to like me. Or maybe you like a slick person. I don't know. Whatever. It's okay. Like, if I start showing up—”

While Couric’s questions certainly appear to be the kind of ridiculous softballs that show why a likely 2028 Democratic presidential candidate would choose to show up on her show, she was adamant that it was a legitimate question, “The reason why I brought it up—because of—because you talked about being authentic, and I think it sometimes works against you.”

While that question wasn’t much better, Newsom did respond by repeating himself before launching into his stump speech, “Yeah. It's just who I am. It's just who I am. And you know, I could go out and I can get one of these Hollywood producers to be a member of my campaign and pick out which taupe suit I'll wear or which, you know, which we've seen happen in the past when people literally are getting stylists to become someone they're not.”

Like the late night comedy shows, the liberal podcast circuit is going to be a rite of passage for 2028 hopefuls. The fact that a former straight newswoman sounds like any other liberal commentator not only casts suspicion on her CBS and NBC days; it makes one pause and consider what the current cast of network hosts and reporters might be doing on today’s stories.

Here is a transcript for the March 5 show:

Next Question with Katie Couric

3/5/2026 

KATIE COURIC: So, what do you do about that?

GAVIN NEWSOM: I don’t do anything about it.

COURIC: Do you, like, use less hair gel? What do you do?

NEWSOM: I let it go.

COURIC: Do you have a Zoolander problem?

NEWSOM: No, I—Jesus. Yeah. Zoolander.

COURIC: Are you just ridiculously good-looking as Vogue said? No, seriously. What do you do about that?

NEWSOM: You don't do anything about it ‘cause if you're going to do something about it, then you're bullshitting people. You know what? I am who I am. And I'm—it's fine. You don't have to like me. Or maybe you like a slick person. I don't know. Whatever. It's okay. Like, if I start showing up—

COURIC: The reason why I brought it up—because of—because you talked about being authentic—

NEWSOM: Yeah.

COURIC: —and I think it sometimes works against you.

NEWSOM: Yeah. It's just who I am. It's just who I am. And you know, I could go out and I can get one of these Hollywood producers to be a member of my campaign and pick out which taupe suit I'll wear or which, you know, which we've seen happen in the past when people literally are getting stylists to become someone they're not.

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