By Charles C. W. Cooke
Wednesday, January 28, 2026
What’s that old Nietzsche line about gazing long into an
abyss? Gavin Newsom would do well to recall it. Eventually, Donald Trump turns
all of his critics into an ersatz version of himself, and, evidently, the
governor of California is not immune. It is common to hear Newsom described as
an oleaginous man, but, at this point, he might better be compared to sand.
Sand absorbs oil, and retains its color in the process. Of late, Newsom has
absorbed an Exxon Valdez’s worth of Trump.
It’s not just the all-caps tweeting, or the acid mockery,
or the hypocritical demands that everyone but him must play nice that Newsom
has assiduously copied. It’s the chutzpah. This week, Newsom tweeted that
“nothing is sacred in Trump’s America — not the First Amendment, not the
Second, not even life itself,” before vowing, “We, the People, will not allow
the Trump Administration to erode our rights.” An admirable sentiment, in a
vacuum. But surely the “we” in the sentence cannot include Gavin Newsom?
The Second Amendment? At present, Newsom is engaged in a
national effort to repeal it, so that it can be replaced with a version
that focuses on gun control rather than gun rights. As mayor of San Francisco,
Newsom urged the city’s Board of Supervisors to impose “the maximum penalty
under state law” on residents who violated San Francisco’s (now struck-down)
total ban on handguns and — twice — joined amicus briefs that argued
that the Second Amendment does not protect an individual right. As governor of
California, Newsom has signed a bill that bans concealed carry at the protests
he now lionizes; signed a bill that bans Glocks, the most popular handgun brand
in the United States; signed a bill (now enjoined) that gutted the Bruen
decision by defining “sensitive places” so extensively as to render carry
impossible for millions; signed a bill (now struck down) that was intended to
prevent those who challenge California’s gun laws from obtaining attorney’s
fees; and signed a bill (now struck down) that regulated what could be said
about guns in print if it were possible that a minor might see it.
The First Amendment? In 2022, Newsom signed AB 587 (now
partially enforced, following a settlement), which required social media
platforms to submit periodic reports to the state about how they enforce rules
on categories such as hate speech, extremism, and disinformation, and the
California Age-Appropriate Design Code Act (now enjoined), which imposed
default-setting requirements on any online service that was likely to be
accessed by children. In 2024, he signed SB399 (now enjoined), which barred
employers from requiring employees to attend meetings or communications whose
primary purpose is to convey the employer’s views on politics, religion, or
union organizing, and AB 2655 (now struck down), AB 2839 (now struck down), and
AB 2355, which broadly regulated the same election-related AI and digitally
altered political content that Newsom frequently traffics in on social media.
As for “life”? Come now. Under Newsom’s leadership,
California has adopted some of the most extreme abortion laws ever seen in the
United States. Among the initiatives Newsom has spearheaded or signed are a
bill to furnish medication abortion at every public university in the state; a
series of bills that provides civil and criminal liability to anyone receiving
or providing abortions; a bill that allowed abortion providers in Arizona to
operate in California; a bill that required health plans in the state to cover
mifepristone, irrespective of its FDA-approval status; and a constitutional
amendment (Proposition 1) that renders abortion as a fundamental right and, in
practice, outlaws parental consent, waiting periods, and ultrasound, and allows
abortion up to the point of birth. Had Kermit Gosnell put together a
legislative record, it would not meaningfully differ from Newsom’s.
The United States is a big country, and it is inevitable
that, somewhere, it will play host to a Gavin Newsom. But it would be better
for all involved if, where they must exist, the Gavin Newsoms among us would
have the good manners to be honest about their preferences. Despite his
pretenses, Gavin Newsom is not a champion of the First Amendment, of the Second
Amendment, or of life, and he is not interested in moderation, decency, or
respect for his critics, either. Within hours, Newsom will complain that Trump’s
rhetoric is inappropriate and tell anyone who disagrees with him that
their “knee pads are in the mail.” Concurrently, he will insist that he is a
champion of the right to bear arms and sell his plan to remove that
liberty from the Bill of Rights. Simultaneously, he will describe his state as
a haven for freedom and embark on yet another attempt to micromanage the
internet in the name of fighting misinformation. Ezra Klein, Newsom’s fellow
Californian weathervane, has described this tendency to go “in two directions
at once” as “fascinating.” I disagree. It is pathetic, cynical, and Trumpite —
and that, in this particular case, it is being delivered by someone who has
good hair and a lupine smirk does not alter that one whit.
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