He highlighted California’s partnership with nearby states to counter what he’s called the politicization of the CDC and vaccine guidelines under HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

“We are making sure that our own independent analysis provides a list of recommendations based on facts, based on science — not based on bullshit and fear,” Newsom said.

Newsom, who’s in New York for Climate Week, argued that he’s succeeded in getting under the GOP’s skin lately because Trump and other conservative figures, such as Fox News’ Sean Hannity, can’t handle when he “put a mirror up” to the president’s behavior.

The governor’s late-night feting even included a bit about his new online merchandise store. Newsom grinned as Colbert brought out a T-shirt that depicts MAGA figures, including rapper Kid Rock and commentator Tucker Carlson, praying over his shoulders, along with a red baseball cap that reads “Gavin Newsom Was Right About Everything!”

“It was very moving. In fact, I’m very emotional just seeing it,” Newsom quipped as Colbert held up the T-shirt, which is printed in the style of Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel.

For any 2028 presidential contender, it would have been a coup. But Newsom’s Late-Show moment threw into stark contrast the reception former Vice President Kamala Harris has received as she tries to put out fires and downplay jabs at fellow Democrats — including Newsom, a longtime friend and rival — during a promotional tour for her new 2024 campaign memoir, “107 Days.”

Newsom referenced that humiliating defeat without naming Harris, saying, “As the Democratic Party, we have a lot of work to do to make up for our failures in the past. We got crushed in this last election.”