Op-Ed: Don't Be Fooled By Gavin Newsom's Troll Game
Op-Ed: Gavin Newsom’s Troll Game Is Strong—But Don’t Let It Fool You
It would be a shame to see a smarmy somebody like Gavin Newsom successfully troll his way to the presidency.
Granted, it’s debatable that we will even have a legitimate presidential election in 2028, but let’s suppose something – the Supreme Court, a menu item from McDonald’s, a heart and soul transplant – managed to corral our budding American dictator into leaving the White House for good.
In a recent Emerson College Polling national survey, the California governor has emerged as the frontrunner for the 2028 Democratic presidential primary, leading with 25% support—a 13-point increase from Emerson’s June poll.
Following Newsom is former Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, at 16%; former Vice President Kamala Harris, at 11%; Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, at 5%; and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, each at 4%.
Newsom was tied with Vice President JD Vance with 44% support. Spencer Kimball, executive director of Emerson College Polling, noted that “Governor Newsom’s support surged across key demographic groups,” with particularly strong gains among younger voters who now favor him 45% to 28%.
Newsom’s rise is rooted in his role helping stave off Republican gerrymandering efforts and, above all, the work of his social media team.
On Wednesday, Trump told reporters that Newsom was “incompetent” and went on to lie and accuse him of being responsible for California’s water management policies that gave way to the wildfires in January. He also lied about the time he sicced the military on us in Los Angeles for a made-up controversy, claiming that the city is already starting to be overrun by protests.
In response, Newsom took to X, writing, “So you can have them sleep on the floor again? We’re good,” with a photo showing several dozen troops sleeping on the floor during their deployment.
It’s 2025, three years ahead of any election, so polling significance is questionable. Still, I talk to my people and notice that even those who are politically disconnected know Gavin Newsom’s name and like what they’ve seen. They go up for the simplest stuff like that tweet.
And though we are a few years from an election, Mayor Pete will never be president. There will be white folks in mainstream media trying to fault Black people and homophobia for it, but the fact will remain that, as I wrote years ago for his first doomed presidential bid, his time as mayor shows that his disconnect with Black people can be rooted in failing to show up for us than his sexuality…which he doesn’t even highlight himself.
As for the former vice president, I doubt she runs again, and even if she did, unless she is willing to be forthright about how awful an idea it was to have someone as old as Joe Biden seek reelection, it won’t matter.
Josh Shapiro’s inability to acknowledge the pain of the Palestinian people will sink him.
As for AOC, don’t sleep on her, but she may just put Chuck Schumer out of his misery already, so we’ll see.
It’s early, yes, but opinions are forming, and I am noticing from my media consumption that many of the same forces and personalities that push Joe Biden as the only answer in a Democratic presidential primary are now doing that same work for Gavin.
It all translates to one thing: only a white man can win.
I don’t believe that, no matter what the last couple of election results were, but I do know that once media narratives are popularized and drilled in, the public tends to fall in line after a while.
For what it’s worth, I appreciate Gavin Newsom’s redistricting efforts in California and applaud any elected official who hires a social media team to make sure he doesn’t embarrass himself or his constituents.
And considering how pathetic other Democratic leaders look in comparison, it is a relief to see someone “fight back.”
However, as someone in California and familiar with the ways of Gavin Newsom, I am not nearly as charmed as some of y’all and am begging folks not to fall for the okie doke.
Newsom may be a useful troll and GOP foil, but I don’t want people to forget that this is the same person who turned to the Supreme Court to criminalize homelessness and make it okay for cities to lock up homeless people for sleeping outside, regardless of whether they are offered shelter or if beds are available.
Newsom promised to fight the crisis for nearly a decade and has failed to do anything in spite of having more power than ever to do something besides stripping people off the street so the more fortunate don’t have to be burdened with having to look at their suffering.
I’ve seen this point raised and dismissed flippantly with the notion that now is not the time to pursue “perfection.”
What people who say this really mean is that they don’t care about homeless people because they’ve fallen for the lie that poverty is punishment for personal failings.
It’s the same line of thinking to ignore Gaza, police brutality, rising inequality, etc.
From a moral standpoint, it’s abhorrent, but in terms of political strategy, by now it should be considered dumb.
And yet, off we go, cheering on this, again, smarmy white man that’s proven to be better at boosting his own career at the expense of the most vulnerable.
The one who yucks it up with racists on podcasts while throwing trans people under the bus for the Democrats’ failure.
Newsom is getting way too much life from his parody of Trump, but it shouldn’t get to the point where, just like Donald, he cons his way to the White House pretending to be a man for the people when his background screams otherwise.
Michael Arceneaux is a New York Times bestselling author whose most recent book, I Finally Bought Some Jordans, was published last March.
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