California Governor Gavin Newsom is dishing out advice to his fellow Democrats: pretend to be normal while he plots a White House run.
Newsom, who’s been eyeing a 2028 presidential bid after loser Kamala Harris’ electoral wipeout, took to the stage at The New York Times DealBook Summit in New York City, urging his party to ditch the judgmental elitism that’s alienated everyday Americans.
“I think there’s a broader narrative that [Democrats] ought to address, that is, we have to be more culturally normal,” Newsom said, adding “We have to be a little less judgmental.”
He went on to stress the need for Democrats to grasp “the importance and power of the border, substantively and politically,” acknowledging how open borders and lax enforcement have fueled voter backlash.
In the same breath, Newsom unleashed on Fox News, comparing it to Soviet-era propaganda, saying “You got Pravda, the primetime lineup at Fox, just going on and on [in defense of Trump].”
He then slammed Trump as a “man-child,” declaring that the the President “called someone the ‘R word’ or piggy, and somehow it’s just ‘Trump being Trump.’ Nothing normal about this… It’s unbecoming to the president of the United States.”
Newsom then explained his own Trump-mimicking social media account antics were “approved” by him to “wake everybody up” to the “normalization of deviancy.” He accused Fox of criticizing his posts but never uttering a “damn word” about Trump’s rants.
The comments come as Newsom warns that Trump is “trying to wreck this country,” a claim that rings hollow given California’s ongoing crises under his watch, from rampant homelessness and crime to devastating wildfires that have scorched communities like the Pacific Palisades.
A Berkeley poll earlier this year found 54% of registered voters believe Newsom prioritizes his presidential ambitions over fixing the state’s problems, with only 26% saying he’s focused on governance.
X users mocked Newsom’s call for Democrats to feign “normalcy,” highlighting the irony of a governor whose policies have driven businesses and residents out of California in droves.
Hellbound and Down 