By Dan Walters / Calmatters / May 20, 2025
One of Gavin Newsom’s political ploys is to depict political rivals as bullies and himself as someone who stands up to them.
Last September, for example, he devoted an entire segment of his podcast, “Politickin’,” to denouncing Donald Trump, saying he is “a bully. But here’s the thing about bullies — they’re weak.”
That was before Trump was elected and before Newsom had to play nice in hopes of securing billions of dollars in federal relief aid for fire-damaged Los Angeles County. After initially saying he would provide such aid during a visit to L.A., Trump began hinting on imposing conditions on California, such as tightening up voting requirements and loosening up on water deliveries to farmers.
Newsom then reverted to his previous role as a leader of resistance to Trump.
Yes, Trump does use bullying tactics to get his way. He uses aggressive policies — such as tariffs on imports — as a negotiating tactic. So does Newsom.
One example is the campaign his office is waging among the media to discredit USC Professor Michael Mische, who projected that as California loses in-state refinery capacity, gasoline prices could soar to more than $8 a gallon.
If Newsom believes that Mische is wrong, an effective response would be some research that proves it. But rather than refute Mische’s analysis, the administration has been planting suggestions that Mische is employed by Saudi Arabia, even though his advice to that nation ended years ago.
Newsom is never shy about forcing local governments to obey his demands, whether it’s making more land available for housing or being more aggressive about clearing encampments of homeless people. Newsom periodically threatens to withhold funds from or take legal action against cities and counties he deems to be negligent, emulating Trump’s tactics against states that won’t bend to his will.
It happened again this week when Newsom released $3.3 billion in bond money for housing and treatment of the mentally ill and homeless populations.
“It is time to take back the streets,” Newsom said during a virtual press conference. “It’s time to take back the sidewalks. It’s time to take these encampments and provide alternatives and the state is giving you more resources than ever, and it’s time, I think, to just end the excuses.”
Newsom unveiled a model anti-camping ordinance he wants local officials to adopt and hinted that there would be consequences for those who balked.
“I’m not interested anymore, period full stop, in funding failure,” he said. “I want to see real results, and you’ll see in my budget on Wednesday that we’re going to hold that line.”
After receiving Newsom’s latest admonishment, local officials issued their latest defense.
Jeff Griffiths, Inyo County supervisor and president of the California State Association of Counties: “No, the state has not done everything it can to address homelessness in California. Without clear responsibilities for every level of government and reliable funding for cities and counties, successful local efforts will wither on the vine.”
League of California Cities executive director Carolyn Coleman: “When it comes to addressing homelessness, the question is not how many cities have encampment ordinances. It is whether cities have the ongoing funding from the state to match the scale of the crisis. Cal Cities stands strongly behind its position that now is the time for the state to invest in ongoing funding for all cities, big and small, to address homelessness.”
Bullying or political hardball? It’s difficult to discern the differences between Trump’s demands on states and Newsom’s on cities and counties. And if Trump’s bullying stems from weakness, what about Newsom’s?
Dan Walters is a syndicated columnist with Calmatters
Anything critical about Newsome here usually is omitted. You rarely get to see a bad word about him here. Dems have to know their swamp is just as bad. Undermining your tax/money base for the poor is just not working. All the past headlines of how much unaccounted money has been thrown at homelessness with unknown/unproven results. It’s creating more poor and dependency on government as a solution through taxes, direct and indirect, besides the cost of living/inflation. Every municipality wants more money. Leaders are paid by tax dollars. The general tax paying public should be serviced first, and those not contributing to the system second.
Whoops! There it is again — that ol’ false equivalency. ‘Dem’s swamp is just as bad as Trump’s.’ Why can’t we criticize Newsom and other Democrat officials without lowering ourselves to that all-too-easy and very lazy argument that the Dems are just as bad as the GOP/ MAGA. Sure, Newsom is a type of bully and some of his policies / directives need to be criticized and targeted with pushback… but to claim he is just as bad as Trump who has the entire Federal executive branch to play with … is just wrong, misleading and fool-hardy. Plus it undermines any resistance to the real bully : Trump /MAGA who want to destroy American democracy.
Agreed. It’s like claiming that the 6th grade bully at your elementary school with a slingshot is as dangerous and scary as the gun-toting 40 member gangbangers that have been killing people in your neighborhood with AR-15s…which is, after all, MAGAs preferred weapon of choice.
Really Chris Shultz, how many people has Newsome deported to a torture prison in El Salvador run by a murderous dictator lately?
Just stop it, dude.
sealintheSelkirks
Too easy and lazy to bash me, I see. You should reread.
\Yes, Trump does use bullying tactics to get his way. He uses aggressive policies. So does Newsom.
Newsom is never shy about forcing local governments to obey his demands, whether it’s making more land available for housing or being more aggressive about clearing encampments of homeless people. Newsom periodically threatens to withhold funds from or take legal action against cities and counties he deems to be negligent, emulating Trump’s tactics against states that won’t bend to his will.
Hmmm, when the swamps are stacked decks, each are bad.
Me thinks you’re missing my point, or THE POINT. One swamp wants fascism and other wants whatever depths an elected can go within the framework of a constitutional democracy. You cannot really measure them by the same yardstick.
Ironically, I agree you’re missing the point. As long as lame ducks run amok, protected by their majorities and donors, they don’t have to behave, regardless of what side of the aisle they’re on. Whether that’s Dumpy, Newsome, or Toad. Just because you prioritize your evils, you’re tolerating one evil over another. I’m simply saying they’re both evil. Agreeing with the author/ subject. No different than murder and robbery. Both evil, both wrong. What’s unfortunate about this, is there’s issues at every level, federal, state, and local. And, in my opinion, any changes have to start with the local level, then the state, then the federal. We can’t even elect a mayor in this town without another mole to whack.
Hey, I didn’t say you were lazy, just that you made a lazy argument; it’s so easy to just simply lump them all together. There’s a real difference between killing a person and genocide. That’s too extreme. How about, there’s a real diff between theft of a residence and the theft of the constitution of a nation. Both “bad” but …. Anyhow, I agree that we need to have changes at the local level — but also at the national level.
Then I guess I’m lazy for pointing out the obvious. Is there some sort of a requirement for stating the obvious?
Let’s just call it what it is- ” The Fourth Reich” .
This MAGA appointee can’t even make himself say yes or no after having this read to him:
ALMOST UNWATCHABLE: Warren Literally Reads Off Rule Word-By-Word To Trump IRS Commissioner Nominee
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSKd7dFUQrs
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By the numbers of Trump’s Batshit Billionaire Bill that MAGA just passed:
+ Rep. Jim McGovern on the latest version of Trump’s tax break for the rich/spending for Pentagon and police/slash medicare, medicaid, social welfare bill: If I am understanding the numbers correctly, the latest version of their text scam, the top 0.1% stand to gain $255,000 on average in 2027 alone. That is $700 a day every day. The people who make over $1 million a year will also get their pockets lined. On average, these millionaires will have an additional $81,500 per year, but pennies for everybody else. For those earning less than $50,000 a year, the average benefit is $265, less than one dollar per day…This is not a governing philosophy. It is a scam. I wasn’t sent here to vote for trash like this. For the life of me, I cannot understand why you are doing this. Why the hell did you choose a career in public service just to do this? Just to rip away the health care and food assistance and security of working and middle class Americans.
*Note! So far I guess no Republican has answered his question:
+ Impacts of Trump’s tax bill on the federal debt…
Extend 2017 Trump tax cuts: +2.2 trillion
Increase standard deduction: + 1.3 trillion
Increase Pentagon spending: +$149 billion
Increase border wall and immigration police: +147 billion
Spectrum auction: -$88 billion
Cuts to anti-poverty & food aid: -$295 billion
Student loan changes: -$295 billion
Claw back climate spending: -$678 billion
Cuts to Medicaid: $792 billion
+ Impacts on poor children
– 19% of children rely on SNAP
– 42% of children rely on Medicaid
– 38% of children rely on free or reduced-price school meals
__
Fact or Fiction | Truth behind the video of white crosses shown during Ramaphosa-Trump’s meeting
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqvp1FOir4Y
__
And a little humor:
South African President’s Approval Rating Expected to Soar After Trump Acts Like a Dick
Borowitz Report
https://www.rsn.org/001/south-african-presidents-approval-rating-expected-to-soar-after-trump-acts-like-a-dick.html
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sealintheSelkirks
Did anybody listen to the rambling lunacy of Trump’s commencement speech to West Point?! I mean…uhhhh…wow, really? And his “poorly educated” followers could actually follow all that? That was an amazingly disjointed word salad! Who on his staff WROTE that thing or was it just made up as he went along?
Trump Shows Clear Symptoms Of Dementia During West Point Speech
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZvGFq9WNUE
But wait!! EVEN Russia News is talking about this but NOT the US corporate media about Trump’s mental decline?
…reports this week from British news outlets, Australian news outlets, and now even a Russian news outlet…the 8 minute vid below puts multiple sources together:
Psychiatrists Agree Trump CLEARLY Has Dementia
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knjtApKAr5I
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Todd and Julie Chrisley released from prison after pardons from Trump
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/todd-julie-chrisleys-pardons-came-intervention-daughter-rcna209439?utm
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A FELON pardons a FELON?
Trump pardons former sheriff convicted of fraud, bribery
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIRb4R57ixU
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Trump pardons reality stars convicted of fraud
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dpzIQdwzJY
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Trump’s Pardon Of Social Security Thief Puts The Lie To His Claim That He “Protects Social Security”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7AN4KhArUI
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Another interview with Mary Trump clinical psychologist:
‘He was always a bully, now he’s dangerous’ Mary Trump tells all on uncle Donald Trump | The Daily Telegraph UK
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcwasdoDMtg (One hour interview)
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Has everyone contacted your Senator yet to tell them to vote NO on Bloated Bad Putrid Bill? I know it is all just so exhausting but that’s the point of what the GOP/MAGA are doing.
sealintheSelkirks
How Reagan created Trump…Dark Brandon tells some history and the horrible truth; This is Class War, folks.
Republicans Robbed You Blind — Then Called It Freedom
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziEC6cR1umo
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And now this is where we are at. Reagan and the rich WON. Unfortunately.
This MAGA appointee can’t even make himself say yes or no after having this read to him:
ALMOST UNWATCHABLE: Warren Literally Reads Off Rule Word-By-Word To Trump IRS Commissioner Nominee
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSKd7dFUQrs
__
By the numbers of Trump’s Batshit Billionaire Bill that MAGA just passed:
+ Rep. Jim McGovern on the latest version of Trump’s tax break for the rich/spending for Pentagon and police/slash medicare, medicaid, social welfare bill: If I am understanding the numbers correctly, the latest version of their text scam, the top 0.1% stand to gain $255,000 on average in 2027 alone. That is $700 a day every day. The people who make over $1 million a year will also get their pockets lined. On average, these millionaires will have an additional $81,500 per year, but pennies for everybody else. For those earning less than $50,000 a year, the average benefit is $265, less than one dollar per day…This is not a governing philosophy. It is a scam. I wasn’t sent here to vote for trash like this. For the life of me, I cannot understand why you are doing this. Why the hell did you choose a career in public service just to do this? Just to rip away the health care and food assistance and security of working and middle class Americans.
I guess nobody answered his question?
+ Impacts of Trump’s tax bill on the federal debt…
Extend 2017 Trump tax cuts: +2.2 trillion
Increase standard deduction: + 1.3 trillion
Increase Pentagon spending: +$149 billion
Increase border wall and immigration police: +147 billion
Spectrum auction: -$88 billion
Cuts to anti-poverty & food aid: -$295 billion
Student loan changes: -$295 billion
Claw back climate spending: -$678 billion
Cuts to Medicaid: $792 billion
+ Impacts on poor children
– 19% of children rely on SNAP
– 42% of children rely on Medicaid
– 38% of children rely on free or reduced-price school meals
__
Fact or Fiction | Truth behind the video of white crosses shown during Ramaphosa-Trump’s meeting
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqvp1FOir4Y
__
Supreme Court says Pres. Trump can fire agency leaders, except the Federal Reserve
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GePz_bW9IzM
__
Fox News STUNNED: Trump PUBLICLY HUMILIATED by Republicans!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVDcZhwtK_4
__
And now, today, we’ve got the National Guard sent in by the Felonious President into LA when nearly all of that city isn’t having a riot. It isn’t Rodney King, a couple of protests against the US Gestapo. Itchy trigger fingers on half-assed warrior babies just like Kent State and Jackson State. Welcome to 1970 youngsters!
sealintheSelkirks
sealintheSelkirks