California Governor Gavin Newsom, the man who presided over a mass exodus of businesses, rising homelessness, skyrocketing crime, and record-setting taxes, now says he’s “thinking about” taking his failed leadership nationwide.
In a taped interview with CBS News Sunday Morning, Newsom admitted he’d “be lying” if he said he wasn’t considering a presidential run in 2028.
The Democrat governor, who has spent more time preening for cameras than addressing California’s crises, told CBS’s Robert Costa that after the 2026 midterms, he’ll give a White House bid “serious thought.”
“Yeah, I’d be lying otherwise,” Newsom said. “I’d just be lying. And I’m not — I can’t do that.”
“Fate will decide,” he replied when asked if he was any closer to finding a reason to launch a national campaign.
Newsom’s second and final term ends in January 2027, but he’s already looking past Sacramento.
After overseeing a state plagued by crime waves and drug epidemics, the California governor apparently believes America is ready for more of his “leadership.”
Here’s a breakdown of several major crises that have unfolded in Gavin Newsom’s tenure as governor of California, according to California Senate Republicans:
10. Homelessness – The latest data shows California is home to America’s most homeless despite spending more than $20 billion of taxpayer dollars under Newsom’s leadership. The homeless crisis continues to spiral out of control.
9. Drought – California is being pummeled by several atmospheric river storms, yet we lack the water storage to capture it. Newsom has not delivered one extra drop of water to farmworkers and farmers in the state as California crops are being devastated because of the drought.
8. High Gas Prices – As a benefactor of the Getty oil money fortune, our dear governor has proposed a so-called “Windfall Profits Tax” on the state’s gasoline industry in the name of lowering gas prices. In fact, Newsom’s proposal would only hike up the cost of gasoline at the pump.
7. Early Release of Convicted Felons – Through an Executive Order, the governor’s California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation made it easier for thousands of convicted felons to be eligible for early release with little transparency.
6. Education Failures – According to statewide test scores released by the California Department of Education, 2/3 of California students failed to meet Math standards and more than half of California students did not meet the state’s English standards.
5. Businesses Fleeing California – Stanford University Hoover Institution Study reveals that businesses are leaving the state twice as fast as years prior. Businesses forced to flee are taking revenue, jobs, and opportunities with them.
4. EDD – Newsom ordered California’s businesses to shut down leaving hundreds of thousands of Californians unemployed. In a disorganized scramble to get out unemployment benefits, Newsom’s Employment Development Department sent out $33 billion in unemployment fraud. The number may be higher.
3. French Laundry Scandal/NFL Luxury Suite Scandal – During the coronavirus surge, Newsom attended a swanky dinner at the expensive French Laundry even though he discouraged Californians from traveling during the holidays and partied maskless in an NFL Luxury Suite despite state masking orders. Rules for thee but not for me, right governor?
2. Wildfire Prevention Efforts – An investigation from CapRadio and NPR’s California Newsroom found the governor overstated, by an astounding 690%, the number of acres treated with fuel breaks and prescribed burns. Newsom claimed that 35 “priority projects” were carried out as a result of his executive order which resulted in 90,000 acres being treated. But the state’s own data shows the actual number was only 11,399 acres.
1. High-Speed Rail – In his first State of the State remarks in 2019, Newsom declared his intentions to pull the plug on the massive public works failure known as the High-Speed Rail. Since then, he has flip-flopped and has been pouring billions of taxpayer dollars into this money pit.