California Governor Gavin Newsom has made it abundantly clear that a run for the White House might just be part of his short-term political plans. But on his way there, he’s already facing considerable friction from his home base, with Academy Award–winning actor Halle Berry saying his continual overlooking of women should render him unqualified for the presidency.
Governor Newsom has not been quiet about his ideological differences with Trump. On the contrary, he has taken just about every chance to criticize Trump for how he speaks about immigrants, the trans community, and even the “jokes” about a third term in 2028 if his health allows. Newsom has gone as far as creating an entire troll account on X to mock Trump and his usual social media rants.
For Halle Berry, that’s all just grandstanding and is simply not enough. Recently, Berry has been using her fame to educate people about the growing pains of menopause and urging the government to push for insurance companies to ensure that menopause is at the forefront of medical research nationwide.
According to Variety, Berry was at a book summit for the New York Times where the issue of her differences with Newsom came up. Berry switched up the question and stayed on topic, saying, “When women are struggling silently through perimenopause and menopause, trying to hold their families, careers, relationships, and communities together, it doesn’t just affect women, it affects every household.”
Berry was championing a Californian bill that mandates comprehensive insurance coverage for menopausal treatments and requires the medical board to develop an evolving educational curriculum specifically geared toward better understanding menopause. Berry herself has even been stopping on podcasts like Hasan Minhaj Doesn’t Know to specifically educate the world about menopause.
Newsom has been a loud and vocal critic whenever Trump calls reporters “piggy,” so he knew he had to make a formal explanation as to why, when this bill got to his desk, he vetoed it. Newsom argued that his issue with this bill is simply financial. He said, “Last year, I vetoed a substantially similar bill, stating that it would limit the ability of health plans to engage in practices that have been shown to ensure appropriate care while limiting unnecessary costs. That is still the case with this bill – despite my call for a more tailored solution. This bill’s expansive coverage mandate, in conjunction with a prohibition on UM, is too far-reaching.”
Berry responded to that statement at the summit, saying, “With the way he’s overlooked women, half the population, by devaluing us in midlife, he probably should not be the next president.” This is a substantial blow to his hopes for the White House, considering how closely knit and unionized the community in Hollywood usually is.
This seems more like a litigation issue than an ideological difference. It remains to be seen how Newsom navigates this attack on him, in particular not caring about women’s health as they get older. Newsom is scheduled to appear at the same summit in the coming days, where he will have the opportunity to explain in detail which steps he’s taking to ensure insurance coverage for women of menopausal age.
