I always thought that Gavin Newsom’s record of leading California would do in any serious attempt he made at becoming president. Yeah, he’s got a great look and all those physical tangibles women voters love, but when it comes to his actual record of increased homelessness, protecting illegal immigrants, and presiding over sky-high increases in the price of everything in his state, he’d be lucky to make it out of the Democratic primaries.
Turns out, though, another Democrat may have actually tanked Newsom’s chances. His name? Comedian Bill Maher.
Newsom appeared on Maher’s “Real Time” HBO show on Friday, when the comedian brought up the Golden State’s failure to build a high-speed rail system after spending hundreds of billions since 2008. You can tell by Newsom’s face he wasn’t happy to discuss it:
Bill Maher just ended Gavin Newsom’s political career in 46 seconds pic.twitter.com/QowF7wGQ5r
— Kevin Dalton (@TheKevinDalton) May 2, 2026
MAHER: “The other side, what they are going to say though is, but have you seen the stats from California?”
NEWSOM: “Good! One of the largest economies. Let’s go!”
MAHER: “Well… are they going to say good about gas prices?”
“Are they going to say good about how high their rents are?”
“So many people live…I mean there’s a whole litany.”
“I mean the train! Gavin, you got to get rid of the train!”
“I say this as a friend, you got to let that train go! Let the train go.”
“It’s up to $231 billion.”
Also, this wasn’t the flex Newsom thought it was; two of the last three administrations were led by Democrats, including him. The third was nominal Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger.
