Culture at Fox News

Newsom says ex-wife Kimberly Guilfoyle 'fell prey' to culture at Fox News

Alec Regimbal

During a recent interview on CNN's "The Axe Files" podcast, California Gov. Gavin Newsom said that his ex-wife Kimberly Guilfoyle was a "different person" back when the two were married, and that she ended up becoming a right-wing personality because "she fell prey" to the culture at Fox News shortly after she began working there in 2006. 

Newsom's comments — made on the podcast hosted by David Axelrod, who served as a senior advisor to former President Barack Obama — represent a break from the cursory remarks he typically makes when asked about his former spouse. Since their divorce in the early 2000s, Guilfoyle has become famous for her roles as a Fox News host and as an advisor to former President Donald Trump on account of her dating Donald Trump Jr. When asked by Axelrod about her apparent transition from a supporter of progressive ideals to a conservative firebrand, Newsom didn't hold back.   

"She's got a prosecutorial mindset, she always had that. She's whip-smart and she fell prey, I think, [to] the culture at Fox," Newsom said. "In a deep way, she would disagree with that assessment — she'd perhaps suggest she 'found the light.' Obviously, we have contrasting points of view." 

Ultimately, Newsom said, Guilfoyle's political 180-degree turn can be chalked up to her "ambition" and "pride" getting the better of her, after previously working for left-leaning prosecutors Terence Hallinan and Kamala Harris. Newsom said Guilfoyle moved to New York to start her job as a host of the program "Both Sides" on Court TV shortly after Newsom was elected mayor of San Francisco, and the rest was history.

The conversation about Guilfoyle came up after Axelrod asked Newsom about a now-infamous spread in the September 2004 edition of Harper's Bazaar, which showed him and Guilfoyle elegantly dressed and laying on the floor of the Ann and Gordon Getty's Pacific Heights mansion under the title "'New Kennedys' or not, focus is on the city's first couple." Newsom began describing the photo shoot as an act of "self-flagellation" and "stupidity" before Axelrod interjected to say that he was more curious about Newsom's interest in Guilfoyle. 

"Well, the photo was even more humiliating," Newsom said. "It was on the floor ... it was kind of a gag thing, and they actually printed it. Lesson learned, in my life." 

The two wrapped up the conversation about Guilfoyle by talking about her new fiancé, Donald Trump Jr. Axelrod jokingly asked Newsom if he had been invited to the couple's wedding. 

"Well, I'm very busy," Newsom said.

On the hourlong podcast, Newsom discussed other moments from his San Francisco political career, as well as his current offensive against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and other Republican leaders.