Gavin may boast about higher than expected revenue, but hides the fact state law bars it from use in debt reduction (ABC7 1/25/21).

Newsom proudly proposed spending millions to “Trump-proof” the state (Politico 1/13/25) and billions for illegal alien’s healthcare, and there’s all those federal funds lost to hospice and daycare scams under his administration’s watch. Now we learn that Newsom is not only deficient in reading, it’s worse. A $2.9 billion budget shortfall occurred due to problems in pension math (Daily Caller 4/18/26).

While Governor and Mrs. Newsom increased their grinning public appearances, it’s been revealed Newsom’s PAC purchased 67,000 copies of his book to push it onto the best seller list (NYPost 4/15/26). Greg Gutfeld calls them the “Jim and Tammy Faye Baker” of politics, which fits them perfectly.

After all the performative resistance to Trump and ICE and all the jetting around making speeches and book promotions, the smooth operator claims if Kamala Harris announces for president he won’t. So what’s his game there?

Newsom has the reputation of being able to “charm a toad out of a tree.” Given his fiscal disasters, MediCal messes, CBLs for illegal alien truckers, so many inconsistent social issue positions, allegations of billions lost in scams, and claim to not be running if Kamala does, that glow may be dimming.

The bad news is roads may not be completely safe yet from the illegals he’s licensed, but the good news is toads may be safe.

Ralph Miller

* * *

Ralph Miller’s latest critique of Gavin Newsom contains enough legitimate criticism that it shouldn’t need selective context and exaggeration.

Chevron did move its headquarters to Houston, and the company has criticized California’s regulatory climate. But Chevron announced the move in August 2024, when it already employed about 7,000 people in Houston versus 2,000 in San Ramon. Presenting a two-year-old decision as evidence that Newsom’s fortunes are suddenly changing leaves out some useful context. 

California also deserves substantial criticism for its pandemic unemployment debacle. Its system performed badly. But the programs at the center of much of that fraud were federal programs created through the CARES Act and initially rolled out nationally in 2020, with the states responsible for administering them. The GAO ultimately estimated $100 billion to $135 billion in pandemic unemployment fraud nationwide and noted that states had to implement the new programs rapidly, often before adequate fraud controls were in place. California was hardly alone. Arizona, Texas, Tennessee, Georgia and Florida were all Republican-led states during that rollout. Arizona’s auditor identified roughly $4.4 billion in fraudulent CARES Act unemployment claims. Federal estimates put improper unemployment payments at about $1.35 billion in Texas, $486 million in Tennessee and $458 million in Georgia during the three-year period beginning in July 2020. Improper payments are not all fraud, but those numbers demonstrate that serious problems crossed party lines. Florida provides an even more striking example. In March 2021, federal prosecutors reported 38 COVID-relief fraud cases involving more than $75 million in South Florida - the highest number of cases of any region in the country at that time. Those cases involved unemployment benefits, PPP loans and other CARES Act programs. Again, none of this excuses California. It does show why presenting pandemic fraud as some uniquely Newsom-created disaster gives readers an incomplete picture.

California’s finances also deserve scrutiny. The nonpartisan Legislative Analyst now estimates an $18.5 billion operating deficit for 2026-27, even though accumulated balances allow the enacted budget to balance on a cumulative basis. That is a legitimate fiscal problem without relying on an earlier $17.4 billion projection as though it were the current number. Miller’s pension example, however, gets the math backward. He describes a $2.9 billion shortfall caused by pension-accounting problems. The reported CalPERS errors actually overstated state costs by roughly $2 billion. Correcting them meant California had more money available than originally projected and that the earlier projected shortfall could be smaller—not that the mistakes created another $2.9 billion hole.

Then there is Newsom’s PAC purchasing roughly 67,000 copies of his book for distribution to donors. That happened, and readers can decide what they think of it. But the practice is hardly unique to Newsom. Ted Cruz’s campaign spent $154,356 purchasing Cruz’s own book, and the FEC found no reason to believe those purchases constituted prohibited personal use because the books were distributed to contributors. The Republican National Committee also spent $94,800 purchasing Donald Trump Jr.’s Triggered and later more than $300,000 on Liberal Privilege. Bulk political book purchases may deserve scrutiny, but the standard ought to be the same regardless of whose name is on the cover.

Miller also repeatedly invokes fraud as a measure of political leadership. Consistency matters there too. Donald Trump commuted the 20-year sentence of Philip Esformes, convicted of conspiracy, kickbacks, money laundering and other offenses in a massive health-care fraud case. He also commuted the 35-year sentence of Judith Negron, convicted of health-care fraud and money laundering, and granted clemency to former Republican congressman Stephen Stockman, convicted of mail fraud, wire fraud and money laundering. Closer to home, Trump in November 2025 pardoned former Tennessee House Speaker Glen Casada and his former chief of staff Cade Cothren, only weeks after they were sentenced following convictions involving honest-services fraud, money laundering and conspiracy. None of those clemency decisions excuses fraud in California. They simply demonstrate why fraud should be treated as a consistent standard rather than a partisan talking point.

Finally, Miller’s joke about roads not being safe from “illegals” Newsom licensed leaves out a crucial fact. Federal law permitted certain legally present, federally work-authorized noncitizens, including visa holders, refugees and asylees, to obtain non-domiciled commercial licenses. California says the roughly 13,000 affected drivers were legally present and federally authorized to work when their licenses were issued. Whatever the subsequent licensing problems, describing all of these drivers as “illegals” is not supported by that record.

California has real problems. Its unemployment system failed badly during the pandemic, its finances face serious structural challenges, and Newsom is no more immune from scrutiny than any other politician. But context matters. Pandemic fraud was national and occurred on a massive scale in Republican-led states as well as California. Republican political organizations have bought large quantities of their politicians’ books. And Trump has granted clemency to people convicted of serious fraud offenses, including two prominent Tennessee political figures.

None of that makes California’s problems disappear. It does show why selecting damaging facts about one politician while leaving comparable facts about the other side out produces a very different picture from examining the whole record.

Miller is entitled to criticize Newsom. Readers are entitled to the context he leaves out.

Robert Block