Will Gavin Newsom’s Trump Trolling Deliver Real Results? | Pivot

As Scott-Free August sails on, Kara is joined by @CNN's Abby Phillip. Kara and Abby discuss Zelensky returning to the White House alongside European leaders, and whether a peace agreement will be hammered out. Then, Gov. Gavin Newsom has turned trolling Trump into an art form, but will that actually help Democrats? Plus, GOP governors send National Guard troops to D.C., the Trump administration floats a new ranking system for companies, and Costco says no to selling abortion pills. #pivot #podcast #karaswisher #scottgalloway #abbyphillip #donaldtrump #gavinnewsom #jillianmichaels #zelensky #putin #costco Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 20:48 Zelensky Returns to The White House 27:33 Melania’s Letter to Putin 29:06 Trump Gets Support for DC Takeover 35:58 Gavin Newsom’s Trolling 46:15 Trump Admin’s Company Rankings 51:42 Wins and Fails Producers: Lara Naaman Zoë Marcus Taylor Griffin Kevin Oliver Audio Engineer: Ernie Indradat Video Editor: Jim Mackil Vox Media's Executive Producer of Podcasts: Nishat Kurwa Subscribe to Pivot on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pivot/id1073226719 Subscribe to Pivot on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4MU3RFGELZxPT9XHVwTNPR Follow us on Instagram and Threads at: https://www.instagram.com/pivotpodcastofficial Follow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@PIVOTPODCAST Send us your questions by calling us at 855-51-PIVOT, or at https://podcasts.voxmedia.com/show/pivot

Abby PhillipguestKara SwisherhostJillian (panelist on Abby’s CNN show clip)guest

Aug 19, 20251h 3mWatch on YouTube ↗

EPISODE INFO

Released: August 19, 2025
Duration: 1h 3m
Channel: Pivot
Watch on YouTube: ▶ Open ↗

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

As Scott-Free August sails on, Kara is joined by @CNN's Abby Phillip. Kara and Abby discuss Zelensky returning to the White House alongside European leaders, and whether a peace agreement will be hammered out. Then, Gov. Gavin Newsom has turned trolling Trump into an art form, but will that actually help Democrats? Plus, GOP governors send National Guard troops to D.C., the Trump administration floats a new ranking system for companies, and Costco says no to selling abortion pills. #pivot #podcast #karaswisher #scottgalloway #abbyphillip #donaldtrump #gavinnewsom #jillianmichaels #zelensky #putin #costco Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 20:48 Zelensky Returns to The White House 27:33 Melania’s Letter to Putin 29:06 Trump Gets Support for DC Takeover 35:58 Gavin Newsom’s Trolling 46:15 Trump Admin’s Company Rankings 51:42 Wins and Fails Producers: Lara Naaman Zoë Marcus Taylor Griffin Kevin Oliver Audio Engineer: Ernie Indradat Video Editor: Jim Mackil Vox Media's Executive Producer of Podcasts: Nishat Kurwa Subscribe to Pivot on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pivot/id1073226719 Subscribe to Pivot on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4MU3RFGELZxPT9XHVwTNPR Follow us on Instagram and Threads at: https://www.instagram.com/pivotpodcastofficial Follow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@PIVOTPODCAST Send us your questions by calling us at 855-51-PIVOT, or at https://podcasts.voxmedia.com/show/pivot

SPEAKERS

Abby Phillip
guest
Kara Swisher
host
Jillian (panelist on Abby’s CNN show clip)
guest
Narrator
other

EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of Pivot, featuring Abby Phillip and Kara Swisher, Will Gavin Newsom’s Trump Trolling Deliver Real Results? | Pivot explores trump, Newsom, and Jackson: Media, Power, and Democracy Collide Loudly Kara Swisher and guest co‑host Abby Phillip unpack how media, politicians, and corporations are navigating an increasingly illiberal political environment under Trump. Phillip explains her approach to moderating volatile political panels, using the Jillian Michaels slavery segment to show how she balances open debate with firm fact‑checking. They then explore Gavin Newsom’s highly online trolling of Trump, debating whether viral social media tactics translate into real electoral power, and discuss Phillip’s forthcoming book on Jesse Jackson’s overlooked impact on Black political power and the modern Democratic coalition. The conversation also covers Trump’s deference to Putin, the militarization of Washington, D.C., corporate capitulation to the Trump administration, and the broader threats to democratic norms.

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