There is a lot of talk about whether California Governor Gavin Newsom might run for president in 2028. One of his most controversial past scandals is coming back into the news.
As mayor of San Francisco in 2007, Newsom admitted to having an affair with Ruby Rippey Gibney, the wife of his close friend and campaign manager, Alex Tourk. The disclosure shocked the political establishment in the Bay Area, put a strain on both personal and professional relationships, and almost ended his career at the time.
Newsom admitted and apologized on TV at the time.
“I want to make it clear that everything you’ve heard and read is true,” he said. “I’m really sorry about that.” I hurt Alex Tourk, who I care about deeply, as well as his friends and family. I have to deal with that.
His apology went beyond hurting personal relationships; it also affected people in San Francisco.
“I’m sorry that I’ve let the people of San Francisco down,” he said. “They want a lot from their mayor…” I am dedicated to earning back their trust and faith, and I will work very hard in the next few months to make sure that the city’s business is done in the right way.
Gavin Newsom had sex with his best friend’s wife, who supposedly “showed up passed out” outside his door.
— MrCassidy99 (@MrCassidy99) September 29, 2025
The fallout happened right away.
Tourk, one of Newsom’s closest aides, quit as the mayor’s chief of staff. The scandal raised bigger questions about trust, responsibility, and the line between personal judgment and public duty.
Even Newsom’s public apology didn’t do much to calm the anger. The scandal got a lot of attention from the news, became a topic for late-night comedians, and gave people who didn’t like him more reasons to question his honesty. For a lot of voters, the affair was a quick way to show that they didn’t trust him.
Even though it hurt his career, Newsom got through the storm and went on to become governor of California. Still, the incident is a permanent stain that critics say could come back to haunt him if he runs for national office.
Some people have questioned whether the relationship, which involved a subordinate, could be seen as workplace misconduct in light of the #MeToo movement changing the way people talk about politics in recent years.
But Gibney has publicly stood up for Newsom. She wrote on Facebook a few years later, “To be clear, I fully support the Me Too movement.” “In this case, though, I’m not sure it applies.”
Gibney admitted that she was lower in rank, but she stressed that it was her own choices that led to the relationship, trying to deflect the most serious accusations from Newsom.
The controversy, however, has never completely gone away. It comes back whenever Newsom’s political profile rises on the national stage. He is seen as a possible candidate in 2028 because he is a good speaker and can raise a lot of money. But as more and more people guess about him, they also remember things from his past.
If he runs, the challenge will be clear: Newsom will have to deal with a scandal that has been following him for almost 20 years while also talking about his record as governor.
Last week, Newsom seemed to agree with physical violence against Trump supporters, if not Republicans in general, in a crazy rant on a podcast.
The governor’s comments come as he tries to control his anger over Texas’ mid-decade redistricting plan, which aims to add five more Republican congressional seats. He has promised to fight this by redistricting seats in California, even though the state already has a large Democratic congressional delegation.
Newsom yelled, “This is radical rigging of a midterm election.” He said on “The Siren” podcast, “Destroying, vandalizing this democracy, the rule of law.”
“I’m sorry, but I know how some people feel.” I appreciate and respect that. “But right now, with all due respect, we’re going down a completely different path,” he said. “We’re fighting fire with fire, and we’re going to hit these sons of b****es in the mouth.”
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