Gavin Newsom Will Be our Next President

Gavin Newsom, at age 58, has never lost an election in 30 years. He has served as:

• San Francisco Board of Supervisors (for 7 years)
• Mayor of San Francisco (for 7 years)
• Lieutenant Governor of California (for 8 years)
• Governor of California (for 7 years)

Now, it’s time for him to open a new chapter. He is definitely running for President.

• Late last year, his approval rating reached 56% among likely voters, a 10-point increase from last June.
• Among Democrats, he maintains strong support, with an 82% approval rating.
• Among younger people, he holds a 21-point net approval margin among voters under 40. 

He’s met with leaders worldwide like Benjamin Netanyahu (he’s “not a big fan), Xi Jinping in China, Canadian ex-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

[For a super in-depth article, read Gavin Newsom Is Playing the Long Game.]

Overcoming adversity

Newsom has had a life of adversity. He had to overcome a troubled childhood, starting with his parents’ divorce when he was only 3. This heartbreak led to a childhood of poverty, when he had to work three jobs.

In school, he was a shy geek with a bowl haircut. And I know geeks because I was one myself, a too-smart nerd who always had his hand up in class. As a teenager, Newsom even wore a suit to school and even carried a briefcase.

His fortunes improved when he made friends in the wealthy Getty family, who supported a vineyard that Newsom owns. (It’s held in a blind trust designed to avoid conflicts of interest.)

He’s profoundly dyslexic. But he beat the disability with his prodigious memorization skill. He underlines, copies and recopies everything he reads, and keeps his notes organized with tabs.

He has movie-star good looks, which he uses like other people handle power tools. Today, he has long hair and uses plenty of hair gel, but so what? So does the handsome TV star Captain Pike in the popular Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.

Political intuition

Newsom’s superpower is his see-in-the-dark political intuition – the ability to recognize a good idea way ahead of its time:

He does this by working backward from a desired outcome rather than working forward from abstract ideals. For example:

• Since 2002, he has provided homeless people with services and housing instead of giving out cash welfare payments. Tucson has adopted this sensible approach.
• Newsom supported gay marriage in 2004 – well before the US Supreme Court approved it in 2015.
• He always supported reproductive rights and made abortion a fundamental legal right in California.

Critics say he is too slick, too swank, too smug. This is total BS. These critics are simply jealous.

Newsom admits he makes mistakes. He hosted a fancy dinner in 2020 without wearing a mask, as COVID-19 was sweeping the country. This faux pas prompted a recall effort, but Newsom is so well-liked that he survived it by 24 points.

Some Democrats would like to see a midwestern presidential candidate like Illinois Governor JB Pritzker. He is a billionaire businessman and heir to the Hyatt hotel fortune, so he can fund a presidential campaign.

The rotund Pritzker has reportedly lost significant weight, dropping from approximately 300 lbs to around 220 lbs over two years. He stood up against ICE goons when they invaded Chicago and has focused on progressive policies, like modernizing roads, bridges, transit, and airports, expanding reproductive rights, and advancing clean energy.

Digital marketing master

Newsom is an excellent networker and media influencer. He has adopted MAGA’s effective messaging techniques:

• Newsom hosts a podcast on Spotify and interviewed Alex Wagner of Pod Save America and historian and author Jon Meacham.
• He has not changed his cell phone number in 22 years and has 9,000 personal contacts on his phone.
• His social media accounts have 5 million followers.
• Internet influencers cover his speeches and events.

His best attribute is fighting back against Trump. No one else has mocked Trump as effectively.

• When Trump got Texas to redistrict its political maps to add 5 Republican-leaning districts, Newsom got a public initiative passed to add 5 Democratic seats in California.
• Newsom posts photos showing how obese Trump is, and posts a drawing of Trump as Marie Antoinette with hair two stories high.
• He counters TACO Trump’s lies with facts. (TACO = Trump Always Chickens Out.)
• He mocks JD Vance by saying he had sex with a couch cushion.
• He co-opted a MAGA slogan to make it say “Make America Gavin Again.”

The 2028 election is 1,000 days away, and I look forward to seeing Newsom in the White House.

Please put your thoughts in the comments!