California Gov. Gavin Newsom sent an official email Tuesday evening announcing that he would be delivering a “major” speech that would take on “President Trump's assault on democracy and his illegal militarization of Los Angeles.”
And indeed, he did appear before the cameras around 6:30 Pacific time to gripe and moan about Trump, blame anyone but himself for the failures in his state, and wax poetic about how he would continue to fight for Californians—the Californians he has failed time and time again.
Our Susie Moore expertly eviscerated the silliness:
Gavin Newsom's Big Address to the Nation Was a Lie-Filled Disaster
Her headline pretty much summed up the gaslighting, nothing-to-do-with-the-facts narrative that he spewed out.
My main takeaway? This was not really a speech about California, which, based on his record, he seems to care little about—this was his first real salvo in the ’28 presidential elections. He knows he’s watching his chances go up in smoke like an electric vehicle in downtown Los Angeles, and this was his desperate attempt to right the ship.
It didn’t work.
He appeared stressed, haggard, and I don’t know if he was suffering from allergies or what, but to me it sometimes looked like he was on the verge of tears. One of his main strengths is frankly his appearance—he’s got the perfect teeth, he’s got the look of someone important, and he usually speaks with authority even if what he actually says doesn’t make sense. But that wasn’t there Tuesday night—his Hollywood magic seemed to have deserted him.
— Katie Pavlich (@KatiePavlich) June 11, 2025
Although he did talk for a bit about the problems in Los Angeles, he also went on at length in a sweeping diatribe against everything GOP. He was trying to lay his mark for the Democrat nomination process, and it couldn’t have been more obvious.
Not a Good Day: Gov. Candidate Steve Hilton Pens Devastating Newsom Takedown, Reveals Why He Didn't Act As Riots Erupted
About halfway through his talk he moved on from California, the state he’s supposed to be governing, and weighed in on every hot-button progressive issue he and his speechwriters thought might appeal to his extremist base:
Authoritarian regimes begin by targeting people who are least able to defend themselves, but they do not stop there. Trump and his loyalists, they thrive on division, because it allows them to take more power and exert even more control. And by the way, Trump, he's not opposed to lawlessness and violence as long as it serves him. What more evidence do we need than January 6th?
Donald Trump is clearly living rent-free in his head:
…A president who wants to be bound by no law or constitution, perpetuating a unified assault on American traditions.
This is a president who in just over 140 days has fired government watchdogs that could hold him accountable, accountable for corruption, and fraud. He's declared a war, a war on culture, on history, on science, on knowledge itself. Databases are quite literally, are vanishing.
He's delegitimizing news organizations, and he's assaulting the First Amendment. And the threat of defunding them at threat, he's dictating what universities themselves can teach. He's targeting law firms and the judicial brands that are the foundations of an orderly in civil society.
Um... what does this have to do with the riots in LA? Has he been taking notes from the odious "everything is a threat to democracy" windbag of a senator, Adam Schiff (D-CA)? They certainly sound the same.
Never mind those silly riots, Gavin has something more important on his mind, a story that really chaps the behinds of the liberals—the parade planned Saturday to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army. We can’t be celebrating our military, for God’s sake!
And we all know this Saturday, he's ordering our American heroes, the United States military, and forcing them to put on a vulgar display to celebrate his birthday, just as other failed dictators have done in the past. Look, this isn't just about protests here in Los Angeles. When Donald Trump sought blanket authority to commandeer the National Guard, he made that order apply to every state in this nation.
This is about all of us. This is about you.
There were plenty more nuggets designed to appeal to depressed liberals, but in my estimation, this speech was largely a failure. Sometimes I am aggravated by Newsom’s smooth ability to seem above the fray despite his failures—but he wasn’t able to do that here. He seemed histrionic, desperate and on edge.
My advice to Mr. Newsom—and it may be sexist, but I don’t care because I’m old school—don’t look like you’re about to cry over policy issues. Tragedy, fine, but policy, no, no, no. It never, ever is a good look.
NEW>> Weep and Weak: Gavin Newsom on Verge of Tears as He Pushes Against Trump Instead of Violent Riotershttps://t.co/nNfAMVNxHu pic.twitter.com/joVMNUTSpw
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) June 11, 2025
To me, this seemed like the unofficial start of the '28 campaign season. Newsom saw his star fading and tried to get in front of it. He fell woefully flat, and if somehow he does stay relevant and win the Democratic nomination, JD Vance or any other competent Republican will eat him for lunch.
Mr. Newsom, I wish you the best personally, but I fervently hope this is the beginning of the end of your disastrous political career, which has brought so much misery to so many.
