Sibling Revelry with Kate Hudson and Oliver HudsonI Approve This Message with Governor Newsom (Part 1)
Gavin Newsom lives and breathes California politics, but the Politickin' governor reveals a side the state rarely gets to see in this episode of Sibling Revelry.
He is joined by his sister, Hilary who reveals a few family secrets and the scariest part of being a Newsom.
Plus, what role could Oliver play in a possible Presidential bid?
I am Kate Hudson and my name is Oliver Hudson.
We wanted to do something that highlighted our.
Relationship and what it's like to be siblings. We are a sibling.
Revalry.
No, no, sibling. You don't do that with your mouth, revelry.
That's good, Oliver.
I feel like this is our first political interview, like an interview with someone in politics. Yeah, we don't like getting into polic We're not.
This is not We're not a political podcast. I don't talk about politics. We don't talk about politics.
I like, can't stand politics.
I don't like politics.
You know.
It's because I feel like we should be interviewing all kinds of politicians.
I don't care which side of the aisle you're on. No, great right, I want to open the door.
Yes, yes, you deal with the political sides of things, and I will just talk about looking how good looking we both are. So I'm going to go social. I'll be the social guy and then you can do the hard hitting politics.
Oh god, don't do that. I can't.
You are You're way more opinionated than I than I am in the political arena.
Only around the dinner table. I don't need to take this into Yeah.
I don't like I'm a humanist. I'm not a political I'm not a politician. I'm a humanist. I go human first party second. Okay, well all right, yeah, you know what I mean.
Well, let's introduce yeah, bring him our new our guests today, we.
Have Gavin Newsome. It's not a threesome, it's a twosome. I think my belly is a gruesome. His sister, Hilary Govin news let me rest on your bosom.
Never heard that before. Oh my god. Look if he runs for president, he's got a new toy. Hello, welcome.
Okay, we went on, we went in on the joke.
I was just I like, I want to know, I make up songs all the time, and I was like.
Just inappropriate, inappropriate.
It was you can't, Gavin Newsom, I want to rest on your bosom.
Okay, I'm getting.
I'm here for you, I'm here, We're out.
Canal.
That's amazing.
Welcome to our podcast.
Yes, if you do decide to run for president, I would like that to be your jingle.
Like yeah, or you just perform it at the inauguration if you exactly.
Yeah, who's going to be a Trump's inaugural. What's who's the entertainment this year?
I don't know, I don't know.
It be hard to talk his last one.
I'm sure Hulk Hogan.
Inadvertently was out of Trump rally by going to the UFC match.
Anything like that. My kids like, Mom, we want to go to UFC. I was like, cool, let's go. And I had no idea.
Crazy.
Wow, I'd never experienced such energy.
Yeah.
Yeah, that's a good PC word.
Yeah yeah, and I it was.
It was really something I'll tell you.
But it's yeah, I mean they he's completely co opted that sport, hasn't he.
I mean completely, It's it's an aggressive sports I know.
Oh yeah, Well he's been, I mean he's he's been with Dana White for a long time now, he's.
Been, you know, Dana White after the election said I'm tapping out of this.
Yeah.
Yeah, because there's a lot more, you know, a lot of stress out there on both sides. So you don't need any of that.
No, no, no, no, not at all.
So what's going on with you too?
Well?
I just want to start by saying I came into this office and there's family photos here, not one of me.
If that's a foundation for our relationship. I just wanted to share that.
But there are seven of me different stages of my life.
Yes, yes, you know what's funny about that is this is like a similar not complaint with pictures necessarily, but it's that sort of black sheep mentality of well, who is liked more? You know, who is honored more in the family, and and you know, Katie and I have those arguments. I think like Mom probably loves me more even though she has far exceeded any success that I have had.
You know, by the way, you no, no bs, You actually believe that, don't you?
Yeah?
What he knows?
I know? Yeah? Does Does she tell you that?
Or is that like a quiet thing she does? Just you feel it?
I feel it?
Gavin? Can I call you that? Governor?
Governor Gavin, I don't. Yes, I'm not comfortable with politicians. My name is new scum according to Trump, so he don't call me governor.
Afford to meeting him and saying Hillary new scum.
Yeah, yeah, I'm actually I'm petitioning to change our last names right now.
I have problems.
You got it, easy, man, You got like fancy sister thinks she's stuck with me and everyone that hates me, and I.
Again recall all that. She's like, oh you're not.
I mean she literally some going to places, not kidding, like getting grocery, said, oh seen a credit card?
Go god, I hope you're not related to that Gavin. Now, so she's like, of.
Course, I are you crazy? Well, actually, you know, we're gon We're gonna get into all kinds of shit and go back. But but but this was actually a question that I had in my mind. I didn't know what I was gonna ask when I ask it. Now, I can hardly deal with getting rejected from an audition, you know what I mean. It's just how do you deal and even you too, how do you both deal with like the vitriol and the anger and the just constant annihilation, Like because that's obviously you you know, a game you're in, so it comes with the territory. But does it ever affect you or are you just so thick skin? I mean, do you ever sit in the closet and cry and say, who am I? Why did I do this? No?
I'm so sick? How are you talking about? Nothing? I was just gonna I was gonna answer your question. But I put the tequila over in the corners. I can't reach it. I can't reach it. That's right there. No, man, it doesn't. I don't think you know.
I've been doing this forever, and I'm remember like the first time. I don't know if this happened to you get your body burning effigy that's like a real life size body. And I was like eighteenth and Castro in San Francisco, and I'll never forget seated physically. I was at an event and they wanted to make sure that I was, you know, celebrated a little bit. And to see the actual flames of a burning body with your.
Face on it, I'm like, damn.
And that was kind of the beginning of my political life and as a supervisor running for mayor of San Francisco and the city that apparently I was loved in. And so I've been at this forever and Nobs, I don't think it gets easier, And people that say gets easier, I call bullshit.
I just don't believe that.
I was at the Balboa Cafe and we were I was sitting at a table next to four or five guys that were just bashing my brother the entire time, and the waiter asked me what I should do and what do you wanted me to do, and I said, don't do anything. Don't do anything. So when I left, I said, send them around a beers on Hillary Newsom and say that you really enjoyed their conversation about amazing. And he called me five minutes later he goes, God, I wish you were here. All of them are like, no, the dude's cool, so so oh thanks for the beers. That is aw So I try and kill him with kindness. Every once in a while I will call my brother and say, you might see me on the news tonight. I was a bit of a Karen at Target, you know, with this woman who you know had and I hate Gavin Booth right outside for no reason. So everyone's so I have to check myself.
There are a couple of people that like me, though I'm not one.
No.
Literally three months ago someone said, you know, they were like, thank you for the tip, and I was.
Like, wow, that's so nice, thank you.
I am even though I'm the younger sister.
I'm very like when I'm with him, I'm like, okay, back off, back off kind of security.
No, No, I mean they hate it me, don't hurl it at him. I mean, security has to be a real thing, especially now. I mean there's so much anger and hate.
Lune he ever said so and that really that just like ten X during COVID and it never really went away, just all that stress and energy out side the gates for it was about a year where you really couldn't. I mean, we had we had to sneak out the back of the house. We had these little escape roots. The kids. Uh that was the hardest thing with the guy got four young kids and just to hear the chance at night and or drive in and people are you know, are trying to lay in front of their car and their little kids or worse when they go to school.
And then you know, my daddy hates.
Your daddy yours, And that's like crazy.
That's hard.
And that's where I think, that's where these are the lines that I just even back I joke about the Mayor days. I mean, there was a different level of respect for institutions, for people, even if you disagree with them, even though you went after them, but then you know, at dinner, you didn't go after them. At a sporting event, you didn't go after me. You didn't go after the kids. Now there are no damn lines, man, It's just free for all.
No I would I go.
You sead up to Sacramento to see the soccer games with him and his kids, and like, why are you hiding in a tree? He's like, I don't all be yelled at just to be able to watch his kids play soccer the worst.
Now this is like therapy. By the way, let me say this.
People open up here. I don't know, but I'm.
Like, okay, and I'm down. I got nothing to complain about. I just shut up.
But this, this soccer thing, this was serious. This is one I knew, like the world a radit could change. So I'm like, literally nothing cuter than little kids playing soccer, like you know, just like six of them around the ball type soccer, Like the cutest thing. And so I'm with my little cute son Dutch, like the cutest thing, legitimate.
They're like just sweet kid, doesn't you know.
And and so that we have a game we lost badly, which was like important for the story. And we're walking in the parking lot and we're going and I'm holding his hand and this suv runs up and there's a uniform of the kid in the back of the car. So there was two kids in his car and it was a dad rolled down the winter. I figured, it's just gonna say hello, great game, and he goes fuck you.
Right in front, right in front of him son in front.
Of his no, fuck you, you suck newsome go fuck yourself and literally drives on. And I'll never forget that was for me. And I got in the car and I gave him my cell phone, like you can go do your social media. And he said, and I remember that, looked at me. He goes, are you all right? I said, I'm fine, and my heart was literally pounding on the way. Oh that was the most demoralizing of all that sort of hated.
How do you explain that to your kid? I mean they get it, I mean they must the.
Word, but didn't understand it. But he remembers the fingers.
They always remember.
It's the first thing that happens.
I will say, though, you know, I have the privilege of a lot of perks with my brother being governor.
I got a stalker. That was one of my favorite perks because.
He used to be mine so well.
But Gavin has a has a wall around him. So yeah, I'm in.
You literally did get it.
I got the stockers by the.
Way, about to get out of jails.
So he got he got bored of Gavin.
He was like, no, he couldn't get to Gavin. Couldn't get to Gavin.
So he decided to come to me, and luckily he violated the restraining owner that I had.
And by the way, this true story originally walked. I walked home and he was with my oldest daughter in the house at the computer had lied said he was a family member.
Everything about our family.
My daughter was home alone, Danny nanny was there.
But yeah, but alone meaning no other family members, and was literally going through the computer and literally get it.
I mean, that's this crazy stuff.
Anyway, Why are you still doing this? Get out of this game? What do you mean? Go work on the go long shoreman here, you'd be a really handsome long shoreman.
Wait are you paying well?
Man?
They get paid well and got great pension.
Any of your movies.
By the way, he couldn't start there. It's not coming back to plump Jack. It's my job.
So that would just scare me so much that just even like, yeah, that would be one of those things where you would really like I would assess why I'm doing it, but then I guess that's the other thing.
I mean this, that's why you're doing it because it matters.
Yeah.
No, it's like I said, I if you know, it's sort of the beginner's mind. You don't know what you don't know when you get into this, but you know, having you know. If I knew what I know now, there's no doubt when you're just starting a family. I would, honestly, there's certain things think twice about. But at the time I did, I would never they didn't. There weren't even points of consciousness. I was like, wouldn't know.
Better knowing what you know now, would you have gotten into this game?
Yeah? No, bullshit. I'll give you an example.
Literally the other day, just one of those sort of magical moments. Uh true story. I'm at an event. This is a couple of weeks ago, and you were there. I didn't even tell you about this. Someone came up and an older woman and said, I'm so glad you're here. I didn't know you're going to be here. I said, thank you, I'm nice to meet you. She says, no, no, I have someone I want you to meet, and I said, who, says it's I'm a patient advocate and this is one of the people that I'm advocating for. She's undocumented and she's not getting treatment anymore. And I said, why is she not getting treatment? Well, because Donald Trump got elected, and I said, she just so, we're trying to get her back in for chemo. She stopped and it was she said, you're not. I literally said, so, what why are you bringing? Her says because she said, if you would tell her it's okay, I think she'll go back and get the treatment. She comes up Spanish speaking only. She tells her I'm crying, She's crying. I'm hugging her. And then the advocate is crying and hugging me, saying thank you don't know what you just did. And I didn't do anything, and I walked away, going I have the what a gift. This is the greatest gift in my life. Anytime I feel like shit, I have those moments where you can do something as simple as I said it's gonna be okay, and do it with some sincerity and conviction, and to back it up and say no. In California, it is going to be okay to fight like hell for you and and that's, uh.
That's why you do this stuff things like that seriously.
And yeah, I will say that.
Literally the day before my mom passed, she said to him, do not run for may or do not do this. You're too sensitive. You're you know, it's it's such a dark space. And uh so she passed thinking that you'd be a good listener.
Yes, I know.
Crazy.
Well, I mean it's so interesting because you know, like sensitive that he can go both ways right right, empathy empathy, But my I care way too much about what people think of me, and and that can definitely sort of, you know, fuck me up a little bit and stops my forward progress because I worry. I want to be liked and and and how could you how could I possibly do a job like you could do?
Like, come on, man, your point is about auditioning. You're you picked the wrong damn profession as well.
The hell's you?
No, no, I mean act, I'm in acting for ugly people called politics at least, you know, come on, man, Oh my god, it is, but it is I think that I mean right when I mean there's a and your your profession, it's always fun to read the about those actors. It's sort of fine, maybe you've done in your own life sort of find those moments where they you know, they find that that sweet spot where they sort of give themselves over, uh, and they're not They're concerned about what they put into it, what they can control, sort of a stoic mindset, and don't worry about the third way, You do what you need to do, and whatever adulation, however it's received, is what you cannot control. And you're whatever that outcome is, that's that's something that's for other people. Make a determination. You sort of leave it at that without feeling you know, I don't know, you find that space in life?
Can you parallel that to politics? You can't please everybody. No, it's not possible.
Well, look, I had a they try to recall me. So I'm I've been on this for a while. I mean, I've been like I've been in the tip of the sphere of a lot of the animis and and I started to realize the nationalization of politics in a deeper way. I know, people all talk about all politics is local. That's how I kind of grew up. That was my mantra and you know, a few years back, I started to recognize all politics is not local anymore. It's all national, and there's this weaponization of grievance both parties. I'm not trying to be two partisan here, but when the RNC, the Republican Party, nationally funded and started to see my recall in California, I'm like, WHOA, what's this? And it was a different level of energy. And I remember surviving that and I was like, literally, I was like a different guy. Once your mind is stretched, never goes back to its original form. And I just have a different consciousness about, you know, just around humility and grace and how fragile things are. You can't take anything for granted, How how it emotionally attached people are to their feelings, points of view, advocacy, ideology, and and how how those feelings are being amplified and weaponized through you know, just surround sound media and social bubbles that were all in and the filter bubbles as well that were in the algorithms, and and so I did come off that just with a different sort of level set in my own mind about you know, whatever happens happened, man, just put it out of the field. You get to, you know, and I'm just not going to dream of regretting and I'm not going to try to be.
Someone I'm not.
But can I ask did it did it? Did it?
Did it effect any of Did it make you reflect on anything that you've done in your administration that made you think? I like, I wonder you know everything go yeah? And was there anything that came out of that where you're like, maybe I.
Should have handled that differently?
Always? But I mean, I'm I.
I Every week I write out I mean literally, I've got stacks and stacks of paper. I do this little diary to myself, sort of my version of Marcus Aurelia's meditations, literally notes to myself, just reflections on the week and things I can do better.
I plan on stealing them and publishing them.
Undisclosed location, along with my tequila.
You know, it's funny you say that, because I always threaten my family, like I will take all the pictures that I haven't sell them, and I could become rich.
You know, Oliver, I will be at that auction with you, some of me that would make him I'm sure.
I'm just saying. Yes, he had frosty tips as a youngster.
By by whatever with a versus the block of seagulls were were not overrated.
That's all I'm saying.
There might have been a perm I don't know what the flock.
Would be great to see.
Well, I'm just saying that's how come he has to be nice to me.
Anyway?
No, I mean you do reflect Come on, I mean, I mean this is a this is you know, they say it's a lot of humility in this and you know during COVID. Come on, I mean to reflect on all that all the time. In hindsight, we're all damn geniuses.
Uh.
But at the time you go into it and you're just iterating, constantly iterating. I'm I'm a guy's open argument, interested in evidence.
I know people think I'm deeply ideologically, I'm not. Uh, And I read.
I value critics and other points of view and uh and so No, to Hillary's point around sort of a sensitivity, I'm deeply sensitive to the critique and to the critics because I do want to get better. I want to constantly learn, I want to evolve, and so yeah, No, I mean a lot of a lot of all of this. I mean, society becomes how we behave we are our behavior so everything that you know, how we're sitting here, we sort of manifested that in our life, the good and the bad.
We're not vicious.
Yeah, it's an interesting time for that because we're coming off of we're coming off of this election. It was job, you know, a sort of really interesting to see the way the country lean uh, you know, And I would think that the only way for the Democratic Party to really figure out what it is right now is to reflect. Yeah, because it's not something isn't resonating. And when you hear that, like when you hear all of that criticism, I always wonder, like, you know, what are what are those things that you think, like, you know, maybe maybe this needs to change, or maybe we haven't been communicating this clear enough, Like what are the things that you think really affected this election?
Well, I mean, look, there's I was joking. I was with my colleagues the Democratic Governors Association down in LA last week. We were hosting them. Was the first time twenty plus Democratic governors got together, and we were comparing notes, asking ourselves that same question. And I joked afterwards with reporters, I said, I have nine pages. Each page contradicts the previous page with theories, and I give you I mean, we could talk about you know, you know, Transports Week and talk about wocism more broadly defined CRTE, SG DEI. We could talk about a populism. We could talk sort of Bernie's analysis of working folks. We could talk about sort of elitism coastal LA, talk about all this stuff. Could talk about Kamala Harris in the context of she wasn't aggressive enough responding to those ads around surgeries and prisons and and or she didn't have enough time, or she should have done more Joe Rogan and more podcasts broadly and you know, so there's a there's a million theory. But I subscribe to the John Stewart theory, which is whatever the early theories are, throw them out.
They're a bunch of bullshit.
Because what we tend to do is we tend to overanalyze without the benefit of time to and I think what we need to do it will reveal itself what we did right and wrong, as long as again with this notion of humility and grace, that we are reflective and we do sort of service a deeper understanding. But I do think we can overanalyze. And what I tend to see with pundits on TV is they bring their pre existing bias to the analysis of what happens, you know, you know, like the moderate Dems will say, well, it's because we just need rural this, rural that, read this, read that, and the more progressive saying we just need more progressive medicaid for all, et cetera. And that was what was wrong. And there's truth to everything I think, But I just think time will reveal itself and in messaging and is all part of it. Incumbencies part of it, you know, just the inflation scars, the burdens of being an incumbent over the course the last number of years, and it attaches so much negativity that people just want to push back against it every election to change election. And we really want to change this time clarity of conviction as it relates to communication, which you know, Trump is just clear about what he says or at least his thinking, you know, all of the above. And so you know, I'm I have my own theories, but I'm honestly I think they'll reveal themselves and Trump will reveal us as well as he reacts, will react and the pathway out of this momentary abyss which is momentary in my mind, will reveal itself.
Yeah, it'll be read to be.
These next four years are going to be fascinating to see what happens.
Yeah, I think people overreact. I mean, it's like we're all fucking dead, and I'm like, it's for Everything's going to be fine. I always say that at the end of the day with everything. If everything's going to be fine, nothing's going to We're not going to explode.
Well, I don't know. There's Jones flying over Jersey.
No one knows.
We don't know what's going on.
Just because the drones.
That's a different okay news break from that's me I'm doing. I'm controlling all those Well, I mean.
For me, I have a twenty year ol daughter and a twenty one year old daughter. I'm more afraid for them. Right, So it isn't we'll be fine the next four years. It's what the consequences are you know, later on, and how that's going to impact them. And they're very emotional about it. It's been really interesting conversations with that age range. But I think to your point, it's going to engage them in a different way that we haven't seen, at least in our family, in the Democratic Party. So I'm really excited for them because they care in a way that they've never cared before.
And the key is to care and not give up.
I mean, the only way this becomes the Abyss in a hundred year of darkness is that people give up.
People that give a damn give up.
And I just remind you, I remember I got elected mayor and to THEO and four and I was, you know, a few weeks into my administration, I started marrying sane sex couples, four thousand and thirty six couples from forty six states, six countries, and it was it became a big election issue, and this was the Bush Kerry election and we lost that election. I remember after that election, people thought the Democratic Party was toast. We lost the election in two thousand and four, we lost both the House and the Senate, and people were quite literally writing the obituary of the Democratic Party. And there was like a best selling book that we all needed to go to Applebee's because you know, Applebee's America. Understand, the rural, real People Party was too elite. A lot of the similar things think about this. Two years later, two years later, not twenty years later, somebody they name of Nancy Pelosi is the Speaker of the House. We take back both houses. And then four years later, someone by the name of Barack Usain Obama is President of the United States. That happened in a very short period of time after people were writing the obituary of the Democratic Party. So I think, again, we could be prone to a little hyperpoly But to your point, Kate, it is incredibly important that we not fall prey to stubbornness and act like we're all that, and we have to be deeply, deeply self critical and addressed that I do.
Want to I was going to bring that up earlier about my brother. That's when I knew what a different politician he was going to be, and not really a politician is a little over a month and do it. He decides to legalize same sex marriage. My father was taken aback. My husband filmed him for what almost two years and created a documentary, And in that documentary he talks about how I don't need this job. I can go back to my business, my day to day life. I'm doing this because I believe that I can make a change, and I can represent my constituents and do right by the state of California.
And that's when I.
Knew that he was going to be okay, that he said a different tone, that this wasn't a politician, this was a human being that was going to really focus on making you know, the state to the extent that he could a better place.
You've been so nice.
I have no idea, you know what, these two love each other. I figured we could probably try and show each other.
We should go back, because I do want we're we're.
We're yeah, we want to we want to know.
Yeah, like, how was your birth?
Was it where we well, I was there for it.
Let me tell you.
It was very dark. It was early in the morning, very dark. Yeah.
So you know, as if no one knows anything about you, how many siblings are there?
Is it just the two of you? Are there more?
Just the two of us?
And I'm obviously much younger fourteen months yea fourteen.
Months younger, and uh yeah, but we had we had parents that loved each other, spent you know, thirty forty months together. I got divorced, Yeah, kind of, She's a teenage damn mom, Who the hell man is a teenage here and then then knocks her up, excuse my language. And she's got two kids, divorced, comes from no money and just is working two three jobs all our life. And and he kind of takes off, but not in a not in a negative way, just he couldn't handle it.
Way came back in our lives later.
In a lovely Irish Catholic in an Irish Catholic way.
Yes to shoe.
Right, that was the That was the affection, right, just kind of like we developed a really strong do it a little differently?
Yeah, they go on Inside Edition. I got it right. And then we saw him on Larry King.
Right, exactly, you look great, he looks look good. I mean, okay, we got nothing on you.
Yeah, no, wonder you started this damn thing.
Where were you raised?
San Francisco is where we were born. We're fifth generation or six. We argue about that.
I think we're just bit wow.
And my mom quickly moved to Marine and we had borders in the house. Creepy people sometimes it like played guitar naked.
Wait a minute, five or six generations? So were you did you have a family like the Barbary Coast?
My dad used to joke you said, our great great great grandfather was an Irish cop in San Francisco, and he said he didn't know what came first, San Francisco or the Irish cop.
And so yeah, the beginning, Kate and I almost put me we're really close to I know, it's still great. There's a book called The Barbary Coast and just the sort of the birth of San Francisco with sam Brando coming over, the gold Rush, the lawlessness, you.
Know how international, you know, I mean just burned down sixth times.
It's just an incredible story on the birth San Francisco.
Amen man from a small fishing village to you know, discovering gold and you know, and then it's you know, it's always been a city of dreamers, doers, entrepreneurs, innovators, and it's interesting. You know, I'll look back, you look at so much of the xenophobia that's defined today emanated out of San Francisco as well.
It has a darker past.
The Chinese Exclusion Act came out of the Bay Area, San Francisco and Oakland. You know, there's this guy, the original Donald Trump. If anyone wanted to know if Donald Trump is interesting and new He's not. He's completely derivative of these populace of the past. There was this guy, Dennis Kearney who ran the working Man's Party, a guy from Ireland, and he began and ended every speech in the late eighteen eighties and by saying, whatever else must, whatever else happens, the Chinese must go. And there's sort of anti Chinese rhetoric, anti immigrant rhetoric, anti establishment record rhetoric, anti press rhetoric.
Was was I'm in it at the.
Time, and it caused so familiar today.
Hi, I'm Kristin Davis, and I want to know, are you a Charlotte. In nineteen ninety seven, my life was forever changed when I took on the role of Charlotte Yorke on a new HBO show called Sex.
And the City.
As we watched Carrie, Samantha, Miranda, and Charlotte navigate relationships in New York City, the show helped push once unacceptable conversation topics out of the shadows and altered the narrative around women and sex. We all saw ourselves in them as they searched for fulfillment in life, sex and friendships. Now I want to connect with you and share untold stories and all the behind the scenes together with special guests. What will begin with sex and the City will evolve into talks about themes that are still so relevant today. Are You a Charlotte is a much more than just rewatching. Our beloved show brings the past and the present together as we talk with heart, humor, and of course some optimism. Listen to Are You a Charlotte on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast or wherever you get your podcasts.
Okay, so family growing up? I mean, what was it? How old are you when your parents split up?
Like five or six? I was, and he's a year older. It was quick. Yes, the relationship was complicated.
It was complicated because we never quite knew because we sert of vacationed together and we spent holidays together, and they didn't neither ever remarried, and we never they had a couple. There were a couple of serious relationships in there for each of them, which was hard on the other. And it was a really lifetime friendship. Our mom died at fifty five, and I've never been more excited for my birthday, which is Christmas, even I'll be fifty six.
He made it over the hump. But I'm like, I can't wait to get over the hump.
Never been more excited to tell someone my age. But yeah, so she You know, they really forged a really strong friendship and a lot of respect throughout the years.
But it was.
Confusing because we had the mom that worked THET three jobs, you know, the waitress, the secretary, the you know, assistant buyer, the bookkeeper, trying to get a job in real estate, while my dad took us on vacations to on safari and beautiful yachts and private helicopter.
Right.
So it was a very not because.
Board it clos best friends could.
And we came home and we were, you know, very clear that that's something we boasted about. It's not something we shared. It's something we enjoyed and we could process with each other.
And that was that. And then we moved on to what was real in our lives.
What was your relationship like, you know, just growing up from that age and as you guys got old or was it tight?
I was like his agent. I was like his agent.
You know.
He destroyed the backyard and did a mini golf course and and I promoted it in the neighborhood and we made a few bucks. He started getting into rocky and drinking raw eggs. I think that's what's got him a little screw loose up there. But running up and down the hills and come back. Yeah, yeah, boxing matches and siltic.
Just a little bit of a consumer alert right now to pasteurize milk for the moment, please, But.
I will see Gavin was bullied, genuinely bullied. I don't think the kids aving.
That hasn't changed.
A haircut.
You were actually bullies the haircut.
Yeah, it was a haircut. It was like a whole this whole gail.
Thing came out of desperation.
Man.
I was like Dutch boy with the little thing and it was discovered like amazing, changed my life.
But these bullies, literally I would come home.
I was still at French American in San Francisco, and he was in school and we're in and I'd run around the neighborhood looking for him. When I got back from school and they said, look, he's hanging from his underwear one of the fences. And I believe them and start would start running around looking on all the fences for my brother.
But it was probably hiding behind a tree.
But no bs. One of the coolest things my mom did.
She worked for aid to adoption of special kids that have both family kids with intellectual and physical disabilities, and and this notion of empathy and care compassion that was so ingrained for us as kids. And here she has a single mom with no real training and capacity resources to raise two kids on her own. But she was hustling and making it work and and always, you know, and just never complained, never explain away anything, and was just just grit, hard work, determination. But you know, when you're getting bullied and you watch your mom working with people that are traditionally bullied, I swear to you, man, that's like indelible in terms of my why, why I'm doing this, Why we did gay marriage, Why you know why I was so honored to be there the other day to help this woman feel it's going to be okay, you know, even though it threats of deportation, and it literally explains, you know, my career path.
It started with Hillary. You know.
I started in business entrepreneurialism, started out of college open a wine store with one part one part time person, Pat Kelly. We grew it to twenty is businesses, and as we were growing the business's restaurants, hotels and wineries, I couldn't do it all and stole Hillary, who was working for what Donna, Karen and Harmani in having life in alt no fun, And I said, I need your help because I started getting into politics and I couldn't do both things.
Hillary, What did you do in fashion?
I started off in San Francisco at Banana Republic Corporate, and then I moved to Italy and I worked for Georgia Armani directly three days a week. I was in fittings with him for all his new employe Armaney Collections. And then when I left there, I went to Donna Karen and then back to our money exchange in New York. And then I realized that working seven days a week, twelve hours a day and eating.
All my meals at a desk was not my jam.
So I moved home, actually, and I was fixing to go back in the hostel, you know, in that industry. Levi's a banana and Gavin's like, no, you're coming to plump Jack, And I said, okay, I'll give you six months. And it's been twenty seven years twenty seven years in October. Okay, I know, so I started when I was.
Yet years a watch.
Yeah, be half of the plump Jack.
We're proud of.
Thanks watch watch.
Wow, that's a long time.
Yeah she came. I remember hiring her for marketing.
I was like, hey, we need a market. We got this little new hotel up in Tahoe. We got a market, you know.
And I remember him asking me.
I said him, I don't know how to do marketing and he said, have you stayed in the hotel before?
Have you traveled before? I'm like, yes, yes, yes, He goes, then you know what you're doing.
And I got the bug and I've never looked back, never looked back.
And what do you do for the business?
I'm the co president. I'm one of the ones that brands it.
Yeah, I run it with a co president, my cousin Jeremy, But basically I'm the all of it.
It goes wrong if you've enjoyed your experience, right.
So yeah, we've got we've got a big portfolio.
And what's your favorite part of the business, what's the what's the what what's part of Like which part of the portfolio do you love?
Two things My favorite part of what I do is my team. I am all about them. They're my constituents. I've got We've got three inner plus employees, and I do everything I can to make sure that their experience working for us is amazing and fun and not taken too seriously because at the end of the day, we're not heart surgeons, but that we want to deliver on an experience.
So that to me is my favorite part.
And my favorite business is our Plump Jack in in Tahoe because our parents met up there when my mom.
Was nineteen and my dad was the last guard.
She was a.
Lifeguard, an appropriate father.
Yeah, and our grandfather owned the Master release on after the nineteen sixty Olympics, So my mom was up there and my dad became smitten and then I my husband, Jeff, and I got married up there, and so for me it's super personal. And I was just up there a couple of days ago, so but all of them have my heart. It's just it's the people and so long as I treat them with respect and love, then they treat our guests with respect and love, and that's what that's what I find joy in with my with my work, amazing and our wine is really really good.
So is our food.
Yeah, a few wineries.
Now it's just crazy and a vineyard independent.
It's interesting. You know, I left her complete disaster. When I took off to run for mayor. I had just created a failure award for the company. So the person who's screwed up the most, I gave him a big bonus.
Yeah he always wanted.
That's weird.
No, But I'm like, I'm like a big you know, back to just you know, it's decisions, not conditions that determine our faie future. You know, I'm not a I just I'm not. I've never had this sort of victim mindset. And I really feel like, you know, we got to empower ourselves, change, change perception and conditions. But one of the things at the hotel, she just reminded me. At the hotel, it's an old nineteen sixties and was built for the delegates of the nineteen sixties Olympics, and it doesn't have centralized air conditioning. So in the summer gets really hot up in Tahoe, so we got to keep the doors open, some of the windows open. We got a lot of mosquitoes coming in, and I got a call late at night from our engineer, this guy Ludo, and he rarely ever called, and I like, what the hell is going on?
Ludo?
He's like, it's a disaster. I'm like, Jesus lttle, what's going on?
He goes.
He goes, he couldn't even breathe. I'm like, brother, just calm down. There's the boiler.
What happened fire? He's like, no, it was not a fire. I said, a flood. He said, not a flood. It's at son of a bitch. I said, so, who's what? What are you talking about?
Ludo? He's like the front desk guy. I said, who are you talking?
Eric?
And I'm like, Eric, what did he do? He goes, that's idiot, you know, he went out. You can't even make this up. I said, just tell me what's going on.
He goes. He apparently went out and he bought a bunch of catfish. I said catfish.
He goes, yeah, he bought some catfish and he said he put it in the ponds next to the hotel. Said what the hell was he doing?
He goes.
The idiot wanted to deal with all the mosquitoes. I said, why would he? Oh, because they would eat the larva the thing. I said, that's a great idea.
What's the problem. He goes, well, fucking uh, raccoons. I said, what raccoons.
He goes to the raccoons that brought all the catfish in the hotel.
There's bones everywhere, there's eyes, there's fins. The whole place smells like fish. This guy needs to be fired. He's an idiot.
And I was laughing, and I'm like, man, this guy Eric, I got to meet him. This is amazing, that crazy nightclerk person. And I literally we created the failure word. I gave him five hundred dollars bonus because he at least tried to solve a problem. They screwed up.
A lot.
Well bringing bringing that around, right, I mean, you try at least you tried to solve a problem, and you know as you fuck up. I mean that exists in your world on daily right, I mean, that's funny.
Just I hate people. It's not my job description, it's not my responsibility.
You know that that's there there there's nothing I seriously just and that that's what I wanted is still in the company.
And she changed it to magical.
It was actually smart failure word in magical moments, just sort of.
Paint a more proactive positive picture.
Words matter, everybody's a winner.
That's an issue for me.
Your participation trophy fourth place.
I draw the line at seventh.
If my kids got seventh place, I said, now you have to throw those rimons out, but you can get to seventh.
Yeah, it's the business is fun, man, being being an entrepreneur is the best and trying to have an entrepreneur mindset in the work we do. And government is a big part of what I've tried to do for de kides. And you know, I wrote a crazy book a decade ago about government as a platform.
Meaning people they are more choice, more voice.
Like I sort of framed government as a vending machine where you put in taxes and you get police, fire, healthcare, education, and if you don't like what you get, you kick the machine, you shake it. And how we can look at government more as a traditional platform where we're big on what, small on how meaning we we we we create a framework where we have to solve big problems, but we're less prescriptive on how we delivered them.
And anyway, I totally read the book.
The book did not do well.
I mean I.
Just so.
I was going to say, the book, you read it. If one of you can do the book on tape the audio, I'm going to totally listen to it.
It's making sense and you just but.
Here, here's my biggest issue, just politically, just generally. How can no one can admit when they fuck up? They just can't do it. I mean I I honestly I don't follow politics enough to watch it all. I honestly don't know how you deal with your failures as far as publicly goes. But no one can admit when they fuck up. It's like I was watching Kamaa do her thing. It's like, hey, guess what, you know what we tried at the border in the beginning. We fucked up. We're going to we tried to remedy it, and look we're doing our best. And here where we at and here where we are now, Well, why can't anyone just say, yeah, I fucked up.
I will say that early in his career, I really made a point of holding him accountable when he fucked up. I'm sorry, but it wasn't important.
I was going to ask you that, like, do you do that? You know? Is that? Because I would do that if Oliver was which God, I hope it would never happen.
I was governor of California much I've got homeless all over.
Business, climate.
Ful all over him.
Yeah, oh for sure.
I mean there's a lot of things that happened, in particular in the early days because he didn't have anyone else to hold him accountable, right, my mom had just passed.
You know.
The public well, yeah, but you know a lot of politicians, that was my earlier point, would spin it and spin it until they got caught. And we just really talked all the time and just stand there and say, I'm sorry.
A few major incidents where I trust me, brother had no I mean, I had all the I didn't have a problem, but it was hard to do acknowledging big, big mistakes.
Yeah, and that's happened many times in my life.
When you were able to do a publicly that you were able to say, you know what here I am.
I've grown up in this.
I mean like you guys grow up in you know, your world, and it's much I mean, God bless you. At least I have some you know, I have a geo fence around consciousness of my existence. You don't it's more global, but it's you know, I grew up in this I was like really growing up. You know, I was married and divorce in this business. You know, it's like and I did things that you know you can't do when you're mayor, but you could do if you weren't. And I just didn't. I wasn't mature enough to understand that. And then there were just stupid things that I did because I was stupid.
And when and my my the importance.
For me was stupid.
Yeah, And the bond for me is to make sure that he knew that I stood by his side.
I remember there was one moment and he had to talk to his team because I don't want you in the room, so well, I'm not leaving. And that's kind of how it's been, like He's always knows that there's someone there's now he has an amazing wife and family that have his back too, but he always has known that I've had his back.
It's interesting.
And by the way, that's despite the fact and Oliver, I heard you talking about this on one of your many podcasts about how all she wanted was your attention and when you were younger, but my brother would literally hand me a dollar on the playground. We only overlapped for one year in school when I was in seventh and he was in eighth. He'd give me a dollar to leave him alone. So this is despite that, I still.
Have imagine how much it would cost today.
Well, Kay would Kay would be negotiating like now, she'd get her lawyer on the phone, aged six and be like, Crypto, I'm right here at your door until you speak to my lawyer.
Like the door hanging, I don't think we had. I didn't have a door. I slept in the hallway.
She did.
We literally, like we said, I mean, there's a sort of perception that we're some trust fund kids, and quite the contrary, Literally, Hillary, we had a carved I.
Guess you know.
It was an a frame.
It was literally in the hallway and we.
Cut the side of the wall and there was like some extra room and literally there's no I just.
Walked by it every night.
He literally would make ghost sounds and scary noises.
So I was like, away, right, great, he's still we moved. Yeah, yeah, he remembers.
That's what I called Oliver when I was over.
I know, you know, it's so funny, is uh Bodi used to call and Reo used to call Wilder wad, so now I call Wilder wa do.
I'm still so cute, cuter.
Than over doing over.
Maybe that's like a children's book. We could write sibling revelry. There's siblings called do an over doing is cute. Boom. We just made. We just probably made two million bucks right there.
Oh please, it's all you're.
Just hustling seven seven million.
We're getting us backwards.
Okay, sorry, that was so great.
It was so amazing that we're going to do a two parter. Yeah, I'll go in two parts, so you need to tune in for the second.
And it's also just like it's so interesting and I'm like, we've got to interview more political people. I know I'm going to shave this a million times, but no, I know. Are you going to have a little cocktail holiday cocktail today right now?
No?
No, no, no, no, we're actually doing the We have do many Christmas. So we get the tree, we do the lights. It's on Saturday, so we all go to Target. Everyone gets twenty dollars to spend on each other and then we get fun little gifts and then we open them up and play Christmas music and drink whiskey.
We Why can't I do that? Why aren't I invited?
Because it's only this, this nucleus of this family. It doesn't extend to the other.
I'm going to do and I'm going to do my own and I'm going to give them fifty dollars.
No, I know, actually end yeah, fun, I go fifty cents.
Why do I only have a quarter?
Everyone just gets each other a quarter, exchange quarters.
I'm going to do that with the kids.
Do it. It's the best.
It's the best. And you know the kids are all separate now, yeah, like they all do their own thing. It's the It's four hours at the house, Christmas music. Everyone's around the tree and it's fine. Everyone's together, and it's they can't can't leave.
And they can't leave and they can't invite friends.
No, no, no, it's just the family.
I love it.
And the three kids come.
I didn't know about this.
I've been doing it for years. I have no idea. I don't know. I just don't advertise. All of the cool things that I do.
Makes me so a little weird, but okay, that sounds fun.
Well, I learned something new about you, and I'm.
Going to you know, okay it do it. If you do it on Saturday night, we can FaceTime.
That's allowed.
Well, maybe we can all do it together this year.
Look like Marty Short, You're like, You're like, Jimmy, what's in Blake?
Tell me about your I love you.
I love you. Bye.
