Kimberly Guilfoyle, the conservative media personality and fiance of Donald Trump Jr, is pushing back on claims from her ex-husband California governor Gavin Newsom that she “fell prey” to conservative culture while working at Fox News and became a member of the right.
“This is absurd,” she told the Charlie Kirk Show on Wednesday. “I have been a proud Republican and conservative, registering as a Republican at 18 years of age.”
“I didn’t change, he did,” she added of Mr Newsom, whom she married in 2001. “He used to be so proud to fight for small businesses, for entrepreneurs, for hardworking men and women.. He’s fallen prey to the Left, the radical Left, that is pushing him so far to the left that it’s unrecognizable.”
The comments are in response to recent remarks Mr Newsom made on CNN’s The Axe Files, where he described Ms Guilfoyle as a “different person” than when they were married.
"She’s got a prosecutorial mindset, she always had that. She’s whip-smart and she fell prey, I think, [to] the culture at Fox," Mr Newsom said. "In a deep way, she would disagree with that assessment — she’d perhaps suggest she ‘found the light.’ Obviously, we have contrasting points of view."
Ms Guilfoyle married Mr Newsom in 2001, when she worked for San Francisco district attorney’s office and he was a city supervisor.
At the time, the two were hailed as a liberal power couple and dubbed “The New Kennedys” in a Harper’s Bazaar magazine spread.
During this period, she made remarks seeming to indicate comparatively liberal politics, including saying she was “100 per cent” behind Mr Newsom’s support for same-sex marriage while mayor.
In 2006, Ms Guilfoyle joined Fox News to work as an anchor on a show called The Lineup.
Ms Guilfoyle insists she’s always been a Republican.
The San Jose Mercury News reported she registered as a member of the GOP in college.
In addition to disagreeing with Mr Newsom’s remarks, Ms Guilfoyle also predicted the California governor would run for president in 2024.
“I know he’s going to run for president. He’s always wanted to be president of the United States,” she said. “You are going to see Gavin Newsom versus Donald J Trump running against each other for president. Father-in-law and ex husband.”
The Independent has contacted the governor for comment.
