Gavin Newsom greeted President Donald Trump’s arrival in California on Tuesday by defending his own record in a social media post.
Newsom claimed credit for a drop in crime “since Governor Gavin Newsom took office … across EVERY major category.”
While it is true that crime has declined recently, it rose during Newsom’s first years in office. That is because Democrats embraced the anti-law enforcement policies of Black Lives Matter.
Since President Trump took office, crime has fallen dramatically across the nation — not just in California. That is partly because of Trump’s tough border policies — which Newsom has fought every step of the way.
Newsom also claimed that “California has been rooting out fraud and holding bad actors accountable for years.” That’s laughable.
California has allowed fraud to run rampant, including tens of billions of dollars stolen from the state unemployment department on Newsom’s watch.
Attorney General Rob Bonta only started cracking down on hospice fraud after Trump started doing so. The feds are leading the way against fraud, and California — sometimes — follows.
Next, Newsom claimed that working families pay higher taxes in Texas and Florida than in California. But there is no state income tax at all in Texas and Florida.
Yes, Texas and Florida both rely on sales taxes, which hurt the poor most. But LA County has the highest sales tax rate in the nation, and it’s going even higher.
The Tax Foundation says California’s overall taxation is the third-worst in America. Florida is fifth-best, and Texas is seventh-best. No wonder Californians are voting with their feet.
Newsom also blamed the Iran War for high gas prices in California. That’s another bad joke.
But California’s gas prices are, by far, the highest in the nation, war or no war. That’s because of Newsom’s attempt to crush the fossil fuel industry, which is the one thing he’s done well.
Newsom’s right that California’s economy is growing. It’s the fourth-largest in the world. It’s also the fourth-worst in unemployment, which the governor forgot to mention.
The governor also blasted the president over delays in aid for wildfires.
That’s a bit rich, after Newsom asked for a staggering $40 billion that included money for unrelated projects, then decided it would be politically useful to spend his time insulting the president.
The fact is that after eight years of Gavin Newsom, California is worse off in almost every way.
The state spends 40% more (after inflation) than it did when he took office.
Yet we have no high-speed rail, no new reservoirs, and little brush clearance.
We have more homeless people, more crumbling roads, more failing schools.
That’s why Newsom is underwater in California polls.
And he can’t blame that on Trump.