By Seth Mandel
Wednesday, March 04, 2026
It’s not easy being Gavin Newsom. Every morning the
California governor has to wake up and figure out who progressive voters want
him to pretend to be.
Today they want him to be more of an anti-Israel zealot.
So he learned his lines and went on Pod Save America, the Israel-obsessed
podcast hosted by former Obama advisers. But Newsom, with his impeccable
timing, picked a moment when his performative sneering at our allies would be
most insulting to America and the men and women in uniform.
“Do you think, looking down the road,” Pod host Jon
Favreau asked
Newsom, “that the United States should consider maybe, you know, rethinking our
military support for Israel?”
To which the governor responded: “It breaks my heart,
because the current leadership in Israel is walking us down that path where I
don’t think you have a choice about that consideration.”
He also mocked Israel’s participation in the
regime-change mission in Iran: “For two years, they haven’t even been able to
solve the Hamas question.”
But of course Israel’s participation in the conflict
saves American lives. That may not matter to Newsom, who has all the empathy of
a mannequin slathered in Brylcreem. But it is shockingly disrespectful for a
guy who wants to be president and, therefore, commander-in-chief of the armed
forces if those same armed forces amount to little more than a punch line in
Newsom’s scripted life.
This morning, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint
Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine briefed the press and
the public on the conflict in Iran. Hegseth had a slightly different message
for the Israeli military than Newsom did: “To our steadfast partner, Israel,
your mission is being executed with unmatched skill and iron determination.
Fighting shoulder to shoulder with such a capable ally is a true force
multiplier and a breath of fresh air.”
He later added: “Usually it’s [the US military fighting a
conflict] with some ancillary benefits from allies who are maybe willing but
not as capable. When you have both the will and the capability of an ally that
that can really bring things to bear—we take certain targets, they take certain
targets—and you coordinate it, it has incredible effects.”
Israel is more than carrying its weight, in other words.
Israel’s ability to control the skies over Iran make any American flight
mission far safer. The U.S. also has to deploy less of its own manpower and
resources thanks to having an ally in the arena. Then there’s the value that
Israeli intelligence gathering adds to America’s own.
In sum, the U.S. appreciates being able to share some of
the burden and sacrifice of fighting to bring freedom to the oppressed.
At least for now. Newsom is signaling that his own
prospective presidency would take a different approach, one that is dismissive
of alliances and burden-sharing, unconcerned with American credibility, and
uninterested in the desperate struggles of brave, freedom-seeking civilians
around the world.
Newsom, in fact, would hinder missions like the one he’s
mocking right now. He’d withhold military cooperation with Israel, which would
downgrade its capabilities. In the middle of a war in which Israelis are
fighting alongside Americans, Newsom suggests the Israeli military is
undeserving.
Running down our battlefield allies in the middle of a
war is bad enough. Worse is that Newsom doesn’t seem to realize—or care—about
what Israel’s contribution means for American troops in the field. Again, in
the middle of a war. We can’t expect Newsom to suddenly be an expert in the
complexities of geopolitics. But shouldn’t we be able to expect him to refrain
from such aggressive displays of ignorance? I guess we have our answer.
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