Gavin Newsom can’t stop talking about President Trump
Op-Ed | By Easton Martin | September 9, 2025
In his recent State of the State address, Governor Gavin Newsom accused President Trump of having a “relentless, unhinged California obsession.” The line was meant to sting, but it rings hollow. If anyone has shown a relentless obsession, it is Newsom himself with Trump.
Day after day, the governor finds a way to bring up the president. He tweets in all caps, mimicking Trump’s social media style, and tries to score cheap points with snappy one-liners. The act is less about governing and more about posturing. Newsom seems to need Trump as his foil, the figure he can rail against to boost his own standing. Without Trump to spar with, one wonders what Newsom would even talk about.
Meanwhile, California is in crisis. The homeless population has exploded, with tent cities swallowing entire neighborhoods in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and beyond. Crime continues to climb. Businesses are leaving in droves, weighed down by the taxes and regulations that Sacramento piles on year after year. State Republicans have pleaded with Newsom to set aside his political theatrics and focus on solutions, but their calls are ignored.
This is where the hypocrisy comes in. President Trump, as the nation’s leader, has every reason to point to the failures of America’s largest state. California is a bellwether, and its decline matters to the whole country. Newsom, on the other hand, was elected to govern California. Instead of taking responsibility for the conditions in his state, he spends his time shadowboxing Trump for attention.
The tragedy is that while Newsom wages his political war, real people are suffering. Families priced out of their homes, addicts wasting away on the sidewalks, neighborhoods overrun with crime and decay. These are the people Newsom should be fighting for, but he is too distracted by his fixation on Trump to take up their cause.
Newsom’s constant barbs might earn him headlines, but they do not amount to leadership. California needs a governor who will roll up his sleeves and solve problems, not one who spends his days imitating the man he claims to despise. Until Newsom can break free from his obsession, every attack on Trump will stand as a mirror reflecting his own failures.
