SACRAMENTO, California — Gov. Gavin Newsom struck a somber tone in his annual remarks to Californians on Tuesday, warning that the state’s democratic values are at stake while taking the opportunity to castigate Republican opponents for rolling back reproductive rights and failing to pass meaningful immigration reform.
“This year, we face another extraordinary moment in history — for California, for the country, and for the world,” he said. “We are presented with a choice between a society that embraces our values and a world darkened by division and discrimination.”
For a State of the State address, Newsom’s speech leaned heavily into national issues, playing up his role as a surrogate for President Joe Biden ahead of the first presidential debate with Donald Trump on Thursday. Newsom opened with a “warning from the past,” harkening back to 1939 Europe when the forces of fascism were spreading across the continent and then-Gov. Culbert Olson implored Californians to preserve civil liberties and democratic institutions.
The second-term governor has increasingly positioned himself as an attack dog for national Democrats while batting down questions of whether he himself would challenge Biden for the White House in 2024.
Newsom's pre-recorded remarks were intercut with images and videos — including a picture of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis popping up as Newsom mentioned "California bashers."
The speech echoed Democrats’ national talking points in a stark and dramatic fashion — accusing “extreme” Republicans of lying to women to control their bodies with draconian policies and characterizing residents of red states as fugitives, fleeing from abortion laws written by men a century ago.
“We are protecting women, medical providers, doctors and health care facilities from the forces of darkness in this country,” he said.
The governor also emphasized California’s status as a border state, arguing Congressional Republicans have chosen cynicism, partisanship and chaos instead of doing their job.
“Republicans in Congress, when presented with an opportunity to assist border states, have turned their backs,” Newsom said.
As an avid consumer of conservative media, Newsom also sought to settle the score with detractors, defending the blue state’s efforts to curb homelessness and crime. The governor touted the billions of dollars California has spent on housing and homelessness since he took office in 2019 and his efforts to hold local governments accountable.
He also slammed red states for criticizing California’s crime rates while dealing with high homicide rates of their own, criticizing what he described as “wall-to-wall right-wing media coverage about lawless blue cities and blue states.”
Throughout the speech, Newsom sought to position California as a “beacon” of American exceptionalism and civil liberties — arguing it was Democratic policies that made it that way.
“There’s only one state in America with a dream — the California Dream,” he said. “It’s a dream built on opportunity, a dream built on pushing boundaries and celebrating, not merely ‘tolerating,’ diversity.”
Most Popular
Comments / 0