California Gov. Gavin Newsom has been in California politics since 1996. Over the decades he has been in power, he has made numerous promises that he has not been able to keep. Newsom is a typical career politician who sounds good if you don't pay much attention to politics, but tries to gaslight the public continuously.
His latest talking point seems to be one that will set him up for his presidential run. He announced on Monday that he will distribute a total of $1 billion to counties to address homelessness across the state, remove encampments, and help those experiencing homelessness.
This July, California counties will receive $1 BILLION under Prop 1 to expand affordable housing and provide vital services for those experiencing homelessness and living with behavioral health challenges.
— Governor Gavin Newsom (@CAgovernor) March 2, 2026
No more excuses. Let's see these tax dollars put to work. pic.twitter.com/PMMI15PVeu
The reason this is likely to set him up for a presidential run is that if and when a primary opponent brings up the fact that homelessness has risen under Newsom's tenure as governor, he will pass the blame to the county leaders for "not doing enough" to address the issue. Although some of his fellow Democrat governors, such as Josh Shapiro (D-PA) and Andy Beshear (D-KY), have also seen a rise in homelessness under their tenure.
But Newsom is setting himself up now as the guy who tried to tackle homelessness but could not, in the past eight years as governor, due to county leaders not addressing the issue. If that is completely true and the governor has no say when it comes to homelessness, when Newsom was mayor of San Francisco, he revealed a 10-year plan to end street homelessness. He failed. As governor, homelessness across the state has risen. It has been 18 years since he made the proclamation that he would end street homelessness in San Francisco and was, unsurprisingly, unable to keep that promise.
“Homelessness is my #1 priority” - Gavin Newsom, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026 https://t.co/SPtbmW1CZy pic.twitter.com/hIs6mGZ2dK
— Kevin Dalton (@TheKevinDalton) March 2, 2026
Of course, we have heard the same thing from Newsom about county leaders not doing their job to deal with homelessness, but the inaction starts from the top. If the governor acts and leads, the rest will follow. Most of the counties have failed, but Newsom has failed, too.
For more than 2 decades, Gavin Newsom has been promising to solve homelessness in 10 years.
— Kevin Dalton (@TheKevinDalton) January 15, 2026
In 2022 he announced CARE Court.
Newsom’s plan would finally give desperate families the tools needed to help get their loved ones off the sidewalks of California and into treatment.
I… pic.twitter.com/G8rn6zjEkS
For the past two years, Newsom has been focused on everything else — from attending conferences outside of California, and oftentimes the country, on taxpayers' dime to joining podcasts as he's asked softball questions and hosting his own podcast — instead of doing his job and being the governor of California. He has completely checked out of being governor and is fully focused on his 2028 presidential run, no matter how many times he says he has not decided on whether he's going to run.
He spends the majority of his time bashing President Trump and the rest of his time on a podcast. By passing the buck to county leaders, while never taking accountability for his failures to address homelessness, failing to address the rise in crime due to the radical district attorneys he endorsed, the prisons he closed, the highest gas prices in the nation, the continued rise in electricity costs, as well as the home insurance crisis, he will do everything possible to avoid responsability for any of it when he runs for president.
What is WRONG with Gavin Newsom? He's now BRAGGING about giving us the highest gas prices in America.
— Steve Hilton (@SteveHiltonx) March 2, 2026
Newsom is an out of touch elitist trying to blame 'Trump's war' for his own stupid policies and his own war on working class Californians.
We are so done with him. pic.twitter.com/ufoZQRN7mb
If any moderate Democrat runs for president and doesn't want to see Newsom as the nominee, they must expose his record and corruption over the years in California politics. If the Democrats don't expose him, the 2028 GOP presidential nominee certainly will, and it will not play out well for him in swing states like Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona, and Nevada.
