SANTA MONICA, California — One of the last times I was in California was a couple of weeks before then-Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom won the governor’s race. It was late 2018, and COVID-19 was 16 months away. So were the riots that accompanied the death of George Floyd, homeless camps, and the decline of California’s premier cities.

Over lunch at George’s Burgers, life here seemed ideal, at least compared to what was about to come. Certainly, the pastrami sandwich was.