California GOP blasts ‘disaster’ Newsom for ‘daydreaming’ about White House: ‘Coward’s way out’

The California Republican Party bashed Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) for his State of the State address, where he set his sights on "conservatives and delusional California bashers," with the state GOP calling the prerecorded address the "coward's way out."

Newsom's roughly 30-minute speech was released on Tuesday via prerecorded video, months after the traditional time when a State of the State address is given. Throughout the speech, he touted California's record on various issues, including abortion, and addressed others such as the state's budget deficit, saying the new budget is a "disciplined approach that keeps the state on a strong fiscal footing." He also took aim at those who have criticized the state.

"People across the globe look to California and see what’s possible, and how to live and advance together and prosper together across every conceivable difference," Newsom said. "But the California way of life is under attack."

"For conservatives and delusional California bashers, their success depends on our failure. They want to impeach the very things that have made us successful, as a tactic to turn America toward a darker future. They do so in the name of 'liberty' and 'freedom,'" he said.

Newsom accused detractors of looking to throw the economy and society into "chaos" but proclaimed that "California won’t bend."

California Republican Party Chairwoman Jessica Millan Patterson responded to the governor's address by calling Newsom an "absolute disaster for our state" and accused him of refusing to take accountability for the state's problems while putting California at "the top of all the wrong lists."

“It’s no wonder he chose the coward’s way out by giving a pre-recorded message 99 days late rather than face Californians in a live address," Millan Patterson said in a statement on Tuesday.

"Instead of daydreaming about the White House and scheming up new ways to take voters’ rights away, make California more expensive and make our streets less safe, Newsom should take a look in the mirror and realize he and the Democrats are the cause of countless hardships for Californians throughout our state," she added. "The state of our state is struggling under Democrats’ failed one-party rule, but California Republicans will never stop fighting to turn California around.”

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Newsom's various national-facing attacks on Republicans and public feud with Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) have led many to believe he has aspirations for the White House in 2028. He ruled out a 2024 run, endorsing and heavily supporting President Joe Biden, but he has not signaled his intentions for four years from now.

Newsom won the election for both his terms as governor of the Golden State, overwhelming in the Democratic-dominated state. He is term-limited and cannot seek an additional term in 2026.