If there is a politician who should have been rubbing his hands and savoring the White House, while watching President Biden’s debacle during the debate against Donald Trump, it was our governor Gavin Newsom, who has always dreamed of being president of the United States.
His name was one of the first to appear on the list of Democrats who could replace President Biden if he decides to step aside and not seek reelection.
It’s no secret that the governor of California yearns to be president. As soon as he became mayor of San Francisco in 2003, we realized that his political ambitions were high.
This became more apparent when in early 2004, he ordered the city and county clerk of San Francisco to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, which was illegal at the time in California.
With that order, Newsom challenged the California authorities themselves, who sued him to stop same-sex weddings, but by the time the ultimatum by the California Supreme Court took effect, 4,000 marriage licenses had already been issued.
Although months later, in 2004, they were annulled, Newsom achieved what he wanted, that not only the United States but the entire world knew him and turned to see him.
In recent years, Newsom, 56 years old and father of four, began to move around the country, paying for advertisements and even had a debate with the Republican governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, a presidential candidate.
His last report on the state of the state denoted an extreme triumphalist tone.
After President Biden’s dismal performance in the debate, many are wondering how likely Newsom would be to be chosen if the president is replaced.
How much it could affect their ambitions, how expensive everything is in California, how difficult or almost impossible it is for workers to buy a house in the Golden State, the incessant growth of homelessness; There will be no shortage of people who will remind him of his double standard, like when he went to the exclusive restaurant in the middle of the pandemic. The French Laundry to celebrate a lobbyist’s birthday, and they photographed him happy and without a mask. That caused them to launch an impeachment campaign against him in 2021, which ended up failing, but now they say that this year there will be another attempt to remove him from office. These efforts are fueled because the latest polls indicate that his work is approved by less than half of the voters. Nor do we know how much his liberal social agenda helps him in the states that decide the vote.
But Newsom has been an obedient one of the Democratic rules, he does not stray a line; And let’s not mention President Biden, whom he has helped raise a lot of money; and despite the president’s terrible performance in the debate, he was one of the first to come to his defense, saying that he is an energetic leader and that we can all have a bad night.
The one person who should not like a potential Biden replacement is former President Trump, because if that happens, and they put in a Newsom or any other younger Democrat, his chances of winning would be complicated. Although a March poll by Rasmussen Reports found that former President Trump would lead by 17 points (51% to 34%) if Newsom were the Democratic nominee. Let’s take that poll with a grain of salt.
The truth is that we will have a hot summer in the electoral field.
And few know about the connection between Trump and the governor of California, and that is that Newsom’s first wife, Kimberly Guilfoyle, whose mother is Puerto Rican and whose father is Irish, has been the fiancée of Donald Trump Jr., former President Trump’s firstborn, for several years. The ironies of life!
Nothing to celebrate
Local politicians, including Mayor Karen Bass, rejoiced at the slight decrease in the number of homeless people in the city and county of Los Angeles reported by the most recent count by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA). But Latinos have nothing to celebrate, as we are now the ethnic group with the most homeless people, no less than 23,000. Add to that the fact that the U.S. Supreme Court had just given cities more power to arrest and fine homeless people sleeping outdoors in public places.
Better seated
Last week, the Los Angeles City Council was asked whether it is correct for council members to wander around the City Hall building when matters are being discussed in the City Council, which is quite normal; and even if they are not at their desk and there is a need to vote, it is taken as an approving vote.
However, many activists consider it disrespectful to have to address empty seats when councillors are attending to other matters. We’ll see what happens, but it is correct that during council sessions, and especially at the time of discussion, voting and public participation, councillors should be in their seats.