Gavin Newsom’s latest act of political theater makes one thing painfully clear: he wants to have it both ways. On camera he’s launching a podcast where he cozies up to conservative firebrands and parrots talking points that suddenly make him sound like a moderate, while off camera his administration doubles down on the same costly, lawless left-wing experiments that have hollowed out California. The performance is not leadership; it’s a carefully staged audition for higher office, and Californians are left paying the bill.
If you listen to his social media, you’d think Newsom invented trolling — a governor who ridicules his political opponents while borrowing the very playbook he pretends to despise. He’s transformed the state’s official communications into a parody of Trumpian bombast, all while lecturing the country on decency and governance. That kind of cynical mimicry exposes the real operation: craft the narrative, grow your brand, and ignore the wreckage at home.
The governor’s recent tweet that prompted a Secret Service referral shows how thin the act has become; Newsom’s office flirts with menacing rhetoric one minute and then files sarcasm-laced complaints the next. Meanwhile, he signs laws like the so-called No Secret Police Act and then sidelines the consequences with snark and theatrics. It’s not boldness — it’s juvenile grandstanding from someone who should be solving problems, not stoking culture wars for clicks.
Watching Newsom suddenly adopt the GOP’s talking points on issues like fairness in women’s sports is less a conversion than a calculation. His podcast debut with conservative figures saw him echo positions that alienated his progressive base, a move that looks like opportunistic triangulation rather than principled leadership. When a politician changes positions to chase headlines instead of offering clear, consistent solutions, voters should trust their instincts and call out the inconsistency.
Hypocrisy follows him farther than the Capitol ever will: from private luxury dinners and celebrity retreats to fist-bumps with figures from states whose policies he publicly excoriates, Newsom’s actions often contradict his public scolds. Conservatives and commentators alike have noted that his off-stage behavior frequently undermines the moralizing stances he takes in public. That kind of elite double standard won’t fool anyone who’s cleaning up needles on the sidewalk or paying sky-high gas and housing bills.
Make no mistake, this is about positioning for national power. Newsom’s recent speeches urging Democrats to sharpen their attacks and lean into a tougher playbook make clear he’s angling for a bigger stage and rewriting his brand for a broader electorate. Ambition isn’t a crime, but ambition packaged as authenticity is — and once voters smell the performance, the political cost can be severe.
Americans deserve leaders who stand for something and act on it, not chameleons who pivot toward whatever gets the most applause. Call it out: a governor who tweets like a troll, preaches like a professor, and behaves like a Hollywood executive is no substitute for honest governance. It’s time for accountability and for elected officials to stop treating public office as a launching pad for personal ambition.
