California Gov. Gavin Newsom laid out the blueprint for what will likely be his presidential campaign in 2028, with a surprisingly low-energy speech in his final “State of the State” address Thursday.
Casting himself as a river rat who spent much of his childhood and adult years along the banks of the American River, Newsom poured it on thick by calling himself a “work in progress” who consistently learns from his colleagues in the Legislature.
It’s unclear how many of those colleagues were buying a slice of the governor’s humble pie.
The Post was on hand for Newsom’s underwhelming remarks, as applause was tepid when Newsom entered the Assembly chambers and mostly muted throughout the talk.
Refraining from the wild gesticulations that have frequently made Newsom look like an air-traffic controller in interviews, the governor touted California’s booming economy, rising wages for low-income workers, and record drops in crime.
But he also had a message for one demographic he’ll look to comfort on the campaign trail: sad dudes.
Newsom is keenly aware that Democrats lost the support of young men in the 2024 election and he noted that four out of five people who died by suicide are men. He also said that males are 14 times more likely to be incarcerated, three times as likely to die from a drug overdose, and more than twice as likely to be homeless.
“One out of seven men has no friends,” Newsom said, eliciting more than a few side-eyes in the Assembly chambers. “And half of young men have not even asked a woman out on a date in person.”
Newsom may have seemed vulnerable entering his final big speech as governor, but new budget numbers unveiled Thursday morning reversed an expected $18 billion deficit with revenues that are $42.3 billion higher than forecast last year.
The governor also took direct aim at President Donald Trump, citing the state’s 52 lawsuits against the administration for what he called cruel and illegal cuts to medical research, homeland security and the Los Angeles wildfire disaster response.
“It’s time for the president of the United States to act like a president for all the United States,” Newsom said to one of only a handful of standing ovations, one of which went to first responders and firefighters.
He added that “hardship does not merely wound us; it reveals us,” which sounds pretty profound on paper.
In a rare admission of shortcomings, Newsom noted that the process of building more housing and recovering from disasters like the wildfires continues to take far too long, while China is “cleaning our clock” on electric cars and the green economy. However, much of that blame was again placed at the feet of Trump.
The reaction from Newsom’s Republican critics in the Legislature was swift and cutting.
State Sen. Tony Strickland called the address a blatant “campaign speech.”
“It was a campaign speech. It wasn’t a real ‘state of the state’ address. His California is not the California that is on the ground. He talked about, ‘Whose side are you on?’ Well, he didn’t address the high gas prices. He’s talking about giving back pennies, but he’s costing dollars to those families,” Strickland said.
“We have the highest gas prices in the country and that falls disproportionately on hardworking California families. That’s a direct driver to why we have affordability crisis.”
Newsom has always been a bit of a political wildcard, but on Thursday he seemed to play it safe and cast himself as the humble adult in the room. The mold of his ambition appears to be taking shape.
