California Governor Gavin Newsom is utilizing a brand new “darkish woke” strategy to counter President Trump on social media that appears to be getting constructive ballot outcomes.
Brad Pearce sums up Newsom’s techniques and labels him “America’s Alcibiades”:
Newsom is already doing what he can to lift his profile prematurely of a extensively anticipated Presidential run. Presently, one kind this has taken is a podcast the place he engages with individuals starting from Charlie Kirk to Tim Walz about a wide range of subjects, most notably attempting to strike a conciliatory word with the younger male voters the Democrats have been bleeding. He additionally has his aids working a “Press Launch” account the place they attempt to emulate Trump’s language and habits, a gimmick which has gotten blended critiques. Most importantly, Gavin Newsom is backing an bold initiative to briefly droop California’s non-partisan Congressional districting fee in favor of partisan redistricting by way of 2030 which he claims would offset Texas’s mid-session redistricting scheme- that is seen as an infinite political gamble however that assumes somebody who feels disgrace and is unable to win by shedding.
…
Skeptics abound about if any of this work. They word the disastrous response to the LA wildfires at the start of this 12 months. They are saying that nobody needs to “Make America California” given its excessive price of dwelling, extraordinary charge of homelessness, unbelievable purple tape, fixed dysfunction, and that as such California liberals are poisonous to nationwide politics.
…
Others say that voters merely received’t go for a person who’s so clearly sociopathic and clearly lacks core beliefs. These criticisms misunderstand each Gavin Newsom and electoral democracy itself. Most profitable politicians could have some type of character dysfunction, as half of their job is blowing smoke up your ass, however Newsom’s apparent sociopathy and real shamelessness are huge political property that can’t be taught. Newsom appears to dwell by the immortal phrases of George Costanza, “And keep in mind, it’s not a lie in case you consider it.”
…
Newsom has no baggage as a result of he merely doesn’t care, he’ll simply inform you that you’re mistaken with some quickly produced semi-relevant key phrases or statistics. … Gavin Newsom thrives at a process which is arduous to any semi-normal particular person as a result of he feeds off of promoting individuals on himself all day whereas concurrently having no emotional response to unfavourable suggestions. Here’s a uncommon politician who enjoys the journey as a substitute of simply dreaming in regards to the vacation spot. I received’t belabor the comparability, however he actually is an American Alcibiades– gifted, good trying, self-aggrandizing, incapable of disgrace, and in it just for himself and the love of the sport.
Pearce’s put up additionally features a useful pocket biography of Gavin Newsom for many who should know extra in regards to the man who can be POTUS.
All I ever wanted to find out about Gavin Newsom is roofed in this 2018 LA Occasions piece in regards to the “eight elite San Francisco households” who “funded Gavin Newsom’s political ascent.”
Gavin Newsom’s techniques appear to be serving him effectively within the preseason presidential major polling by Emerson Faculty:
— Nat Wilson Turner (@natwilsonturner) September 1, 2025
And has him neck-and-neck with Vice-President J.D. Vance:
— Nat Wilson Turner (@natwilsonturner) September 1, 2025
A few of Newsom’s development since June appears to have come on the expense of hapless former Vice-President Kamala Harris, however most appears to have come from undecided voters.
Regardless of the trigger, Gavin Newsom is doing effectively sufficient that horse-race sportsbetters The Hill is rating him #1 within the Dem major:
Gavin Newsom has taken to trolling Trump on social media, typically with postings that ape the president’s idiosyncratic and hyperbolic language.
In latest days, he has launched a line of merchandise in Trump’s signature purple bearing slogans like “Newsom was proper about the whole lot” and declaring in all caps “Many individuals are saying that is the best merchandise ever made.”
But it’s not all enjoyable and video games. In a public dialog at a Politico discussion board late final week, he instructed Trump would run for an unconstitutional third time period and referred to as the president “merely essentially the most damaging and damaging particular person in my lifetime.”
The no-holds-barred strategy seems to be paying off for Newsom.
The New York Occasions rewarded Gavin Newsom for his Trump parody merchandising with a breathless article, quoting a number of lecturers about what all of it means:
The Patriot Store is simply the most recent salvo in Mr. Newsom’s ongoing trolling of Trumpworld, which has additionally included utilizing a feisty social media feed to taunt the president and his model of posting, full along with his use of ALL CAPS and idiosyncratic, generally perplexing, vernacular.
The governor’s on-line efforts have drawn anger and generally bewildered reactions from the proper — “We get the joke,” mentioned Dana Perino, a Fox Information host, including, “It’s simply not humorous” — however heaps of reward from extra liberal commentators, who say it’s an indication of life in a Democratic Celebration that has been mired in finger-pointing and infighting since Kamala Harris’s loss in November.
…
Mr. Newsom admits the gag could finally grow to be drained, however he appears tickled by the prank, telling a crowd in Sacramento on Wednesday night time that he can be rolling out much more merchandise on the poll marketing campaign’s web site, presumably together with “a Trump corruption coin.”“I’ve fairly loved myself,” Mr. Newsom mentioned at an occasion sponsored by Politico, including that his aim was “placing the mirror as much as the absurdity of all of this.”
One marketed merchandise seemingly giving the governor specific pleasure was a signed $100 Bible, which Mr. Newsom and his website mentioned had already offered out, although the Marketing campaign for Democracy — his PAC, which is working the merch website — declined to say precisely what number of Bibles it had offered, if any. (Mr. Trump did, in truth, promote his personal “God Bless the USA” Bibles final 12 months.)
On the identical time, the governor appears fairly severe in regards to the greater mission to “get up” the opposition to Mr. Trump.
“I’m sick and bored with Democrats being on the shedding finish on this nation and our democracy being on the shedding finish,” he mentioned. “We’ve received to battle fireplace with fireplace.”
Gavin Newsom has additionally benefitted from battling Trump’s deployment of army and Nationwide Guard to Los Angeles within the courts.
I up to date on that authorized battle a number of weeks again, specializing in two phrases: Posse Comitatus.
Gavin Newsom has additionally positioned himself on the “Abundance” aspect of the homelessness concern:
— Nat Wilson Turner (@natwilsonturner) September 1, 2025
As one would anticipate, this received plaudits from Abundance bro Derek Thompson:
— Nat Wilson Turner (@natwilsonturner) September 1, 2025
Netflix co-founder and Democratic megadonor Reed Hastings has given $2 million to assist California redraw its Home maps within the newest indication of the marketing campaign’s outsize stakes.
Hastings is a stalwart supporter of Democratic causes and an ally of Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has championed the push to counter Texas’ GOP gerrymander with a brand new map designed to oust California Republicans. He additionally spent $3 million to assist Newsom beat again a recall try in 2021.
Mr. Newsom’s administration has raised and spent tens of billions of {dollars} on applications to deliver homeless individuals into housing and to emphasise remedy. However his transfer on Monday marks a more durable strategy to one of many extra seen elements of the homelessness disaster. The governor has created a template for a neighborhood ordinance that municipalities can undertake to outlaw encampments and clear present ones.
California is dwelling to about half of the nation’s unsheltered homeless inhabitants, a visual byproduct of the temperate local weather and the state’s brutal housing disaster. Final 12 months, a document 187,000 individuals have been homeless within the state…
Mr. Newsom can not pressure cities to go his mannequin ban, however its issuance coincides with the discharge of greater than $3 billion in state-controlled housing funds that native officers can use to place his template in place. And although it’s not a mandate, the decision to outlaw encampments statewide by one of many best-known Democrats within the nation suggests a shift within the celebration’s strategy to homelessness.
…
The Newsom administration seized on the Supreme Court docket ruling swiftly, ordering state companies to start humanely clearing encampments from state parks and freeway underpasses, and urging cities to do the identical in native jurisdictions.Some did, addressing encampments with various levels of compassion and aggression.
…
“There are not any extra excuses,” Governor Newsom mentioned in an announcement accompanying the ordinance. “Native leaders requested for assets — we delivered the biggest state funding in historical past. They requested for authorized readability — the courts delivered. Now, we’re giving them a mannequin they will put to work instantly, with urgency and humanity, to resolve encampments and join individuals to shelter, housing and care.”
Gavin Newsom new strategy to social media and his ations the problems drew criticism from the left:
Actually an important factor about Newsom to me is that he personally robbed and displaced homeless individuals for a photograph op https://t.co/YdG0EpHdrT pic.twitter.com/iYeSrppOQ6
— Bryce Greene (@TheGreeneBJ) August 20, 2025
The World Socialist Net Website had a extra particular critique:
Newsom insisted the technique represented a “California-led” strategy, one which avoids Trump’s federal militarization of city policing. But this distinction is totally beauty. Quite than rejecting the deployment of armed forces in opposition to working-class neighborhoods, Newsom has preemptively normalized it on the state stage. “We’re working with native regulation enforcement, not overriding them,” he declared.
The truth is that this represents a serious enlargement of policing powers, redirecting state assets into paramilitary-style operations. Regardless of boasting about “falling crime charges” throughout California, Newsom is doubling down on “law-and-order” insurance policies—a clear try and preempt Trump’s propaganda and deflect Republican assaults. The message to the ruling class is unmistakable: California Democrats are ready to be simply as “severe on security” because the fascistic Trump administration in Washington.
On Friday, Newsom unveiled the State Motion for Facilitation on Encampments (SAFE) Process Power, a multi-agency initiative to dismantle homeless encampments throughout California’s ten largest cities, together with Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Oakland, and Fresno.
The duty pressure represents a major escalation of Newsom’s marketing campaign of criminalization and repression in opposition to the poor. It builds instantly on his signature coverage of violent sweeps, infamously showcased final 12 months when Newsom personally staged a publicity stunt, when he was filmed aiding police as they tore down encampments and destroyed the belongings of homeless residents.
David Sirota’s Lever Information has documented many different occasions when Gavin Newsom labored for the large cash.
Just like the driverless car tech foyer:
After autonomous car pursuits spent at the least 1 / 4 of one million {dollars} on lobbying and handled two senior gubernatorial aides to a bougie dinner, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) vetoed a invoice Friday night time that will have banned self-driving vans from working within the state with out a security operator aboard.
The veto delivered an enormous win to Huge Tech and a serious blow to labor unions and street security advocates, since backers of the invoice say the fast rise of driverless vans could jeopardize trucking jobs and make public roadways extra harmful.
Newsom’s veto is the most recent profitable lobbying effort for the rising autonomous car trade within the influential, Democratic-led state.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) vetoed a invoice that overwhelmingly handed each chambers of the California legislature and would have delivered guidelines and transparency to the state’s burgeoning and largely unregulated cryptocurrency trade.
The transfer got here after the crypto trade spent greater than $400,000 on lobbying efforts and representatives from the Bay Space tech large Salesforce lobbied Newsom instantly on blockchain know-how and different trade issues and handled him to a swanky dinner, based on lobbying disclosures.
Gavin Newsom additionally performed Hamlet, or ought to I say Barack Obama, by publicly supporting single payer healthcare, then waffling on it at a crucial time which ensured the California legislature by no means handed single payer laws.
Gavin Newsom is at present claiming he has reached a deal that may allow Uber and Lyft drivers to unionize, however forgive me if I wait to see the nice print.
Time will inform if Gavin Newsom turns into the Democratic presidential nominee and if his mix of beauty “Darkish Woke” social media trolling, Centrist insurance policies, and mirroring of Trump’s authoritarianism whilst he decries it shall be a palatable combine in on the nationwide stage.
Readers could make up their very own thoughts about Gavin Newsom, however my views of the person have been set a few years in the past by the above-referenced 2018 LA Occasions profile of the person and his moneyed backers:
San Francisco society’s “first households” — whose names grace museum galleries, charity ball invites and hospital wards — settled on Newsom, 50, as their favored candidate 20 years in the past, mentioned Willie Brown, former state Meeting speaker and former mayor of town.
“He got here from their world, and that’s why they embraced him with out hesitancy and over and above everyone else,” mentioned Brown, who’s a mentor to Newsom. “They didn’t have to interview him. They knew what he stood for.”
— Nat Wilson Turner (@natwilsonturner) September 1, 2025
These numbers have gone manner up since 2018, and Gavin Newsom could have made superficial stylistic and coverage modifications, however cats don’t change their stripes, and like several sincere politician, Gavin Newsom stays purchased.
