Newsom nods with podcast guest while addressing 'state-sponsored terrorism' claim about ICE

California Governor Gavin Newsom briefly agreed with a podcast guest disputing his office's 'STATE. SPONSORED. TERRORISM.' post about ICE, and his communications team later denied he had changed his position.

California Governor Gavin Newsom discussed his office's social media post that read 'STATE. SPONSORED. TERRORISM.' during a recent appearance on Ben Shapiro's podcast. Ben Shapiro told Newsom that such language makes politics worse and argued ICE officers are not terrorists; Newsom nodded and acknowledged that point in the interview. Newsom's communications team later denied he had walked back his criticism and issued an emphatic all‑caps rebuttal to the Daily Mail. The remarks took place amid national debate after the death of Renee Good, an incident that drew differing official characterizations and public protests. Key points: - Newsom nodded on Ben Shapiro's podcast when Shapiro disputed the 'state‑sponsored terrorism' label applied to ICE. - Newsom's office issued an all‑caps statement denying the governor had changed his stance and criticized the media report. - The discussion followed the death of Renee Good, which prompted nationwide protests and comments from federal officials describing the incident as domestic terrorism. Summary: The exchange added public attention to disagreements over language used to describe immigration enforcement and the political response to a recent deadly incident. Undetermined at this time.