As Gavin Newsom approaches an anticipated announcement for a 2028 presidential run, he increasingly attempts to reshape the narrative surrounding his controversial career in California politics, which began in 1997 when he joined the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.
Since the start of his political journey, Newsom has repeatedly promised to eliminate homelessness in San Francisco and throughout California. However, after serving as an SF supervisor, the mayor of San Francisco, California’s lieutenant governor, and currently as governor, the issue of homelessness remains one of the state’s most persistent challenges—and in fact, it has worsened. Despite this, Newsom now behaves as if he bears no responsibility for the situation.
“This July, California counties will receive $1 BILLION under Prop 1 to expand affordable housing and provide vital services for those experiencing homelessness and living with behavioral health challenges,” Newsom announced in early March. “No more excuses. Let’s see these tax dollars put to work.”
Then can another big lie: Newsom’s claim that the red states of Texas and Florida, not the blue state of California, actually have the highest taxes:
“We have the most progressive tax rates in America. Texas, the most regressive. Texas taxes poor folks more than we tax our richest. The question for you is who is the higher tax state: California or Texas? Who are you for? Are you just for the one percent or are you for the 99?
Florida is the other regressive tax state. Your middle class pays more taxes in Texas than our middle class in California.”
Fox News refuses to report the truth:
Texas and Florida are the REAL high-tax states. pic.twitter.com/1PtCN5Uvj8
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) March 16, 2026
It’s a massive lie that Newsom has repeated before—likely because he knows he’ll face tough questions during the 2028 campaign regarding the mass exodus that’s occurred in the Golden State under his leadership. This trend isn’t just among wealthy individuals; many middle-class Americans are equally fed up with the soaring cost of living and are making a beeline for states like Texas and Florida.
Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida wouldn’t let such statements slide and made his response clear:
There are lies, damned lies and statistics.
Then there is whatever you’d call the claim that California has lower taxes than Florida.
Even people who like California governance acknowledge CA is a very high tax state: highest sales, income and gas taxes in the nation. https://t.co/C1P7Awvz7L
— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) March 16, 2026
There are lies, damned lies and statistics.
Then there is whatever you’d call the claim that California has lower taxes than Florida.
Even people who like California governance acknowledge CA is a very high tax state: highest sales, income and gas taxes in the nation.
X’s Grok also took Gov. HairGel to task:
California's total state-local tax burden is 11.0% of personal income (WalletHub 2025), vs Texas 7.8% and Florida 6.5%.
CA: income tax up to 13.3%, property ~2.8%, sales/excise ~3.4%.
TX/FL: no income tax, but higher property/sales in spots.Tax Foundation 2026…
— Grok (@grok) March 16, 2026
In a related point, as DeSantis highlighted during the November 2023 debate with Newsom, his “First Partner” limited his speaking time to the time allotted because he had his you-know-what handed to him by the Florida governor. Additionally, Newsom’s in-laws have expressed a preference for Florida over California:
“So I was talking to a fella who had made the move from California to Florida, and he was telling me that Florida is much better governed, safer, better budget, lower taxes, all this stuff. He’s really happy with the quality of life, and then he paused and he said, “You know, by the way, I’m Gavin Newsom’s father-in-law.” So we do count Gavin’s in-laws as some of the people that have fled California and come to the state of Florida.”
Finally, Newsom declared in 2018 that if “the next governor” (hint: him) didn’t address the state’s homeless problem in a “meaningful way,” he should be considered a failure:
June, 2018. While campaigning, Gavin Newsom says that if the next governor doesn't do something to improve the housing affordability and homelessness situations in CA, that governor will be a failure.
Gavin got elected that November. Now there's about 50% more homeless people… pic.twitter.com/SH2fIJZ0b7
— MAZE (@mazemoore) August 26, 2025
He is an abject failure as governor—not just on homelessness, but also on jobs, taxes, the economy, crime, illegal immigration, women’s safety; the list goes on.
Just go away, Gavin. After what you’ve done to California – well, you and your America Last party – the last thing we want to do is hand you the keys to the Oval Office.
