How Donald Trump Jr. & Gavin Newsom Broke The Ice After Kimberly Guilfoyle Forced Them To Talk
When it comes to the politics of Donald Trump Jr., son of former president Donald Trump, and Gavin Newsom, Democratic governor of California, you might be hard pressed to find two men with larger ideological differences. However, the two once had a bonding moment of sorts over their similar hairstyles. It was all thanks to a shared romantic interest — Kimberly Guilfoyle.
Before Donald Jr. and Guilfoyle got engaged in 2020, they were both married to other people. Donald Jr. was with Vanessa Trump until their divorce in 2018, and Guilfoyle was married to Newsom from 2001 to 2006. Divorced couples aren't always that excited to connect with the new partner of their ex, but Newsom and Guilfoyle's relationship ended amicably enough that at one point she encouraged her new beau to talk to her old one. Guilfoyle told The Washington Post that it was during a phone call with Newsom in 2018 that she put Donald Jr. on the line for a bit. She said that the two men had a laugh together about how they both had a dependence on hair products to maintain their look.
Both Gavin Newsom and Donald Trump Jr. have a signature hairstyle
When you look at them, it's obvious that both Gavin Newsom and Donald Trump Jr. have a reliance on styling aids — as Kimberly Guilfoyle told The Washington Post, "Gav's hair is slicked back, and Don's hair is slicked back." Turns out that two political opposites can find common ground, if they really look for it, and it also seems that perhaps Guilfoyle has a type.
Hair styling really does make a difference. When Trump Jr. married his first wife in 2005, he had chin-length hair, styled with what appears to be a lot less product, making him seem more relaxed and laid-back compared to his slicked back style. And a social media user posted a picture of Newsom on X, formerly known as Twitter, and noted, "Gavin Newsom no hair gel gives off entirely different vibes." They're definitely right.
While we're not sure what it is that Trump Jr. puts in his hair, in 2018, The New Yorker said Newsom's hair gel brand of choice was Oribe, a luxury haircare brand. Newsom acknowledged in the article that he used to have a bowl cut when he was younger; this is another hairstyle that he had in common with Trump Jr. The former president's son once shared a picture of rocking the popular 1980s hairdo.
Gavin Newsom and Kimberly Guilfoyle don't talk anymore
Despite what sounds like a congenial moment talking about hair back in 2018, it doesn't seem likely that Gavin Newsom and Donald Trump Jr. have had many additional chats. That's mostly because Newsom and Guilfoyle haven't talked all that much in the years after she and Trump Jr. got together. In an interview on MSNBC in 2022, Newsom talked about how he hadn't spoken to his ex-wife lately, and he confirmed that it was "weird" for him to have an ex who had become such a hardcore Trump supporter.
In 2023, Newsom discussed what he felt caused the switch in Guilfoyle on CNN's "The Axe Files" podcast. "She's whip-smart, and she fell prey, I think, [to] the culture at Fox in a deep way," Newsom said. "She would disagree with that assessment. She'd perhaps suggest she 'found the light.'" Guilfoyle didn't take too kindly to that assessment, and she, in response, said on "The Charlie Kirk Show" that it was Newsom who had changed. With that kind of back and forth between the ex-spouses via the media, we may have heard of the last friendly exchange between Newsom and Guilfoyle, much less Newsom and Trump Jr.