Last weekend, NASCAR driver Bobby East was stabbed to death while standing outside a gas station in Orange County, California. The fatal incident put another spotlight on the recall effort against Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon, who has joined a long list of progressive district attorneys who have implemented equity policies in recent years. San Francisco DA Chesa Boudin was successfully recalled last month, and several members of his office have been dismissed by new DA Brooke Jenkins.
But when the East stabbing occurred, California’s Gov. Gavin Newsom was spending the weekend getting a guided tour of the White House by chief of staff Ron Klain. Newsom also held court with Vice President Kamala Harris, while President Joe Biden was out of the country fist-bumping Mohammed bin Salman. Newsom also collected an education award and further criticized Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Newsom has been paying quite a bit of attention to DeSantis as of late, even cutting an ad to play in the Sunshine State in which he declared the Democratic Party the “party of freedom.” As with New York City Mayor Eric Adams, Newsom used the ad to attempt to recruit people and businesses back to California. As he put it, “Join us in California, where we still believe in freedom — freedom of speech, freedom to choose, freedom from hate, and the freedom to love. Don’t let them take your freedom.”
The California residents fleeing Newsom’s rule appear to be a sensitive topic. As are the rising rent, out-of-control gas prices, unmitigated pollution and litter, and historic spikes in crime. Still, Newsom is playing a media game as he attempts to raise his national profile for a likely presidential run in 2024 or 2028. Newsom knows the more he trains his guns and pomade on Ron DeSantis, the more the media will follow him. After all, DeSantis has proven himself a favorite lightning rod of the media as well.
Newsom also knows that the more he talks about DeSantis, the less the media will focus on the issues plaguing California. That would be very helpful for Newsom.
In 2021, California lost more than 360,000 residents. California lost 650,000 residents in 2020. As Newsom brags about freedom in his state, his policies saw extreme COVID-19 lockdowns against small businesses and residents, including school children outside, even while Newsom himself famously flaunted these policies. In 2022, researchers at U.C. Berkeley and U.C. San Diego showed that “half of Californians have considered moving out of state.” Half. Newsom is hoping the national media don’t start looking into the reasons why. As he promotes his idea of “freedom,” Newsom ignores crippling crime rates spilling out of urban centers and the oppressive vaccine and mask mandates that are returning to parts of his state.
When questioned about the recall efforts against Gascon, Newsom played stupid. He responded, “I don’t know enough about the job he’s done … I’m deeply concerned about the criticism.” Newsom added that he would “leave the more objective analysis of [Gascon’s] job to locals.” Newsom similarly punted when he was asked about COVID-19 mandates returning to parts of his state, stating, “Localism is determinative … I do believe in regional approaches, I do believe in flexibility at the local level …”
So when it comes to policies being implemented in California, Newsom believes in letting the locals take the lead and feigns ignorance. But when it comes to a state 2,700 miles away, Newsom finds himself to be a national authority on freedom.
Put simply, Newsom has forgotten about California, and he’s hoping you will too.
Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) has written for National Review, the New York Post, and Fox News and hosts the Versus Media podcast.
