Newsom Rails Against “Delusional California Bashers” In State Of The State Speech

Gov. Gavin Newsom delivers 2024 State of the State Address

Sacramento, CA – Governor Gavin Newsom gave his State of the State address today, but in an unconventional way—in a pre-recorded video that was streamed to the state legislature and then the public.

Much of Newsom’s speech was devoted to crime, homelessness, reproductive rights, and pushing back against Republicans by referring to them as “delusional California bashers” whose “success depends on our failure.” He noted that California’s violent crime rate is about half of what it was at its peak in 1992. Newsom cited a decrease in violent crime rates, property crime in San Francisco, and the deployment of 120 California Highway Patrol officers in Oakland.

“This is because in California, we take public safety seriously. We take it as a problem to solve, not just to flog on cable news,” he said. “While it’s true that California has among the toughest felony theft thresholds in the nation, we will do more to go after professional theft rings more forcefully.”

Democrats have been focusing on the issue of reproductive rights, targeting conservatives nationally, as Newsom did in his speech.

“When it comes to reproductive rights, their lies are designed to control,” Newsom said. “Their draconian policies are driving women to flee across state lines as fugitives from laws written by men more than a hundred years ago. Some even go so far as to force victims of assault to give birth to their rapist’s babies.”

Newsom also highlighted the state’s active role in homelessness, including spending billions on housing programs and shelters. However, a state audit criticized his administration for not tracking the effectiveness of the state’s homelessness spending. Additionally, he defended his decision to raise the minimum wage for fast food workers to $20 an hour, which businesses have blamed for increasing customer costs. He also boasted about California’s economy, which would rank as the fifth largest in the world if it were an independent country.

“Here is a simple question for Republicans: If California is a failed state, why are four of the seven most valuable companies in the world based here?” he said, referring to Apple, Nvidia, and the parent companies of Google and Facebook. “The best minds in the world call California home because they’re liberated from the constraints of conformity and tradition. This is true freedom—to invent and make the world a better place.”

Republican leader of the state assembly, James Gallagher, countered, “To sit here and talk about venture capitalists when the majority of Californians are struggling, to me, is tone deaf. It was not a real addressing of the problems that Californians are facing.”

Republicans criticized Newsom for not giving a public speech, calling him “defensive” and “unhinged.”

Assemblyman Tom Lackey, representing the Antelope Valley of Los Angeles, stated, “No matter how bad the State of the State is—from a worsening homeless crisis to the erosion of public safety—the Governor must face the public, the press and answer their questions, not hide behind a pre-recorded video.”

Newsom chose to deliver a speech for the smartphone era by uploading a prerecorded video across his social media channels instead of delivering a formal speech. California’s Constitution requires the governor to update the Legislature every year on the state’s condition. However, Governor Earl Warren decided to give a formal speech to the Legislature, highlighting the challenges faced by California’s governors.

The governor started the speech by boosting President Joe Biden ahead of Thursday’s presidential debate, offering Democrats’ ideals as an antidote to the poisonous populism of the right in their State of the State address. Newsom used Trump’s incendiary statements to contrast the choice facing Americans in November, comparing it to the eve of World War II, when fascism spread hate and destruction throughout Europe.

Click here to view the governor’s entire speech.