After brief moderation, California’s Newsom swings back to left with ICE protests

California Governor Gavin Newsom has, at times, appeared to be trying to moderate towards the political center, but his recent comments on the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids betray his moderation. 

When Newsom ran for governor in 2018 and for re-election in 2022, his platform included progressive causes like universal healthcare, climate change policy, criminal justice reform, and expansion of social welfare programs. 

While presumably well-meaning, Newsom's tenure as governor has exacerbated many of the state's challenges like prolific homelessness and rising crime. As of 2023, California is home to over 180,000 homeless people, including over 10,000 veterans. Public safety has taken a demonstrable hit since California's passage of Proposition 47, which, in addition to making drug possession no longer a felony, also classifies five property offenses for which the dollar value is less than $950 as misdemeanors: 1) theft, 2) receiving stolen property, 3) shoplifting, 4) check forgery, and 5) writing bad checks. Before the passage of the proposition, these offenses could be charged as either felonies or misdemeanors. 

Prior to his term as California's governor, in San Francisco, where Newsom was mayor from 2004 to 2011, shoplifting and property crimes spiked, with police reporting a 15% increase in theft-related incidents from 2022 to 2024. 

Additionally, it is increasingly harder for residents of the Golden State to purchase a home. California’s median home price has surged to over $900,000, pricing out many middle-class families. Newsom’s policies have also increased taxes and regulatory burdens on businesses.

Newsom's policies called costly and impractical

In his 2024-25 budget proposal, Newsom aimed at addressing a $44.9 billion deficit, including indirect tax increases on businesses, such as limiting net operating loss deductions for corporations with over $1 million in revenue and capping business tax credits at $5 million annually. The California Taxpayers Association estimated these measures could cost businesses $18 billion over four years. 

Newsom's ambitious climate policies, including a push for a 2035 ban on new gas-powered vehicles, have drawn ire from rural communities and small businesses, who say the mandates are costly and impractical. The 2035 gas car ban was blocked by Congress under the Congressional Review Act and signed by President Donald Trump. However, doubling down, Newsom ordered the state to continue with the phased-in ban. And California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a lawsuit to stop the ban from being overturned.

These policies have driven companies and residents to states like Texas and Arizona, with over 700,000 people leaving California between 2020 and 2023, per U.S. Census Bureau estimates. Dissatisfaction in the state has increased even since the beginning of this year, which saw thousands of acres of Los Angeles burn to the ground in areas like the Pacific Palisades and Pasadena. In a poll conducted by the Daily Mail, 47% of Californians think Newsom is either a great deal responsible or somewhat responsible for the damage that resulted from the fires. 

While Newsom’s interest in running for president has been a subject of speculation for years, his actions have been viewed as laying the groundwork for a national campaign despite his public denials. While Newsom has consistently stated he had “sub-zero interest” in running for president, particularly in 2024, his behavior—such as high-profile national media appearances, debates with Republican governors, and international trips—suggested otherwise as early as 2023. 

For instance, his November 2023 debate with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Fox News and his trip to China that same year to discuss climate cooperation were seen as efforts to boost his national profile. These moves typically align with someone positioning themselves for a future presidential run, likely in 2028, given his term as California governor ends next year. 

Newsom: “I’m not thinking about running, but..."

A shift in Newsom’s rhetoric became more evident earlier this year. After years of denying presidential ambitions, he began openly acknowledging the possibility. In a May 2025 interview with video podcaster Mark Halperin, Newsom said his decision was “to be determined” and that he would need a “burning why” and a “compelling vision” to run, marking a departure from his earlier firm rejections. In a Wall Street Journal profile this month, Newsom told the publication, “I’m not thinking about running, but it’s a path that I could see unfold,” further signaling openness to a 2028 bid. 

Newsom’s new podcast, “This Is Gavin Newsom,” has also sparked controversy, but also heightened further speculation about presidential aspirations among Democrats for featuring conservative figures like Steve Bannon and Charlie Kirk, arguing that the interviews signal a shift toward moderating his progressive stance. 

Launched in March 2025, the podcast included Newsom agreeing with Kirk that transgender women competing in female sports is “deeply unfair” and conversing with Bannon about the questions surrounding the 2020 election, drawing backlash from liberal activists who accuse him of platforming extremists. Newsom defended the interviews as an effort to engage diverse viewpoints and learn from the GOP’s 2024 electoral success, but Democratic lawmakers, including Assemblymember Alex Lee, called the move a “terrible look” for a party leader.

Swinging back to the far left for now

Despite efforts to appear as a moderate, Newsom has boomeranged back to the far left, defending illegal aliens who are subject to deportation, conflating them with legal immigrants. CNN's chief data analyst Harry Enten found that legal immigrant voters have moved 40 points in favor of Republicans on immigration. 

On June 6, he issued a statement criticizing the federal deportation efforts across California, describing them as "chaotic federal sweeps" aimed at meeting an "arbitrary arrest quota." He argued that these actions, driven by President Donald Trump, erode trust, tear families apart, and undermine workers and industries vital to America’s economy. He emphasized the human cost, calling the raids "reckless" and "cruel."

However, as of last month, a Napolitan News survey found that 72% of Californians voters believe illegal imigration is bad for America and 87% think legal immigration is good for America.