Gavin Newsom's likely presidential bid is built on broken promises | Gil Duran

"Gavin Newsom has stumbled upon the perfect slogan for his likely upcoming presidential campaign: Strong and Wrong. In a recent interview, California's governor said Americans prefer crude politicians like Donald Trump over leaders who cling to niceties and norms. Given the choice the American people always support strong and wrong versus weak and right, he said. This explains why Newsom now spends his days mimicking Trump lobbing crude insults and mockery on social media."

"But the termed-out governor has a reality check in the mail, since his presidential ambitions will soon bring scrutiny of his record. Unfortunately for Newsom, his eight-year tenure as governor offers a buffet of failed hopes and broken promises. The politician who recently blasted world leaders' responses to Trump as pathetic has a talent for talking big but falling short. Newsom ran for governor in 2018 as an unabashed progressive, bristling with liberal righteousness, under a campaign slogan of courage for a change."

"To prove his grit and to win support from the powerful California nurses' union Newsom said he would seek to create a single-payer public healthcare system in the state. When a critic assailed this as a pipe dream, Newsom chided their lack of vision. I'm tired of politicians saying they support single-payer but that it's too soon, too expensive or someone else's problem, he said. Then, as governor, he dumped his signature campaign pledge, opting for lesser reforms."

Gavin Newsom adopted a 'Strong and Wrong' persona and argues Americans prefer crude, norm-defying leaders like Donald Trump over polite, conventional ones. He has been mimicking Trump's crude insults and mockery on social media, generating media attention, raising his poll numbers, and earning a reputation as a Democratic frontrunner. His likely presidential ambitions will invite scrutiny of his eight-year gubernatorial record, which includes failed hopes and broken promises. Newsom campaigned in 2018 as an unabashed progressive promising single-payer health care, later abandoning that signature pledge for lesser reforms, prompting accusations of a flip-flop from union supporters.

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