California Governor Gavin Newsom has inadvertently taken responsibility for the homelessness crisis, for which the Golden State takes the trophy as the worst in the entire country. Newsom spoke during a press conference on Wednesday, where he criticized the handling of the homelessness crisis.
However, he could not avoid drawing ironic parallels between the local governments’ handling of homelessness and that of his administration.
“As a taxpayer, not just Governor. I’m not interested in funding failure anymore. I’m not. I won’t. Time to do your job,” he said.
“People are dying on their watch, dying on their watch. I don’t know — how do people get reelected? Look at these encampments. They’re a disgrace. They’ve been there years and years and years and years. I’ve heard that same rhetoric for years. People are dying. Kids are being born.”
Since 2008, when he was elected Mayor of San Francisco and promised to address the homelessness problem, Newsom has advanced politically, leaving a trail of homelessness. This certainly raises the question, “How do Californians keep electing him?”
Having also served as a Lieutenant Governor and is now in his second term as governor, it is definitely a disgrace for Newsom to gaslight Californians and Americans into thinking that he is not part of the problem.
Additionally, his government has also spent billions every financial year to address homelessness, yet the problem continues to worsen. It seems that homelessness spending is a slush fund for California Democrats. Between 2019 and 2025, California spent $37 billion on homelessness. However, some of the funds could not be accounted for.
“… a big state audit that was done last year that showed that a majority of the more than $20 billion that’s been spent on homelessness in California in the last five or so years was not tracked,” Fox 26 News reported.
Bad policies through and through, such as prioritizing illegal immigrants over Californians, are also to blame. Newsom also refused to adequately fund court-mandated rehabilitation for drug users, which most Californians supported through the Proposition 36 ballot initiative. Drug abuse remains among the top contributors to homelessness.
“Proposition 36 allows people who possess illegal drugs to be charged with a ‘treatment-mandated felony,’ instead of a misdemeanor, in some cases,” the initiative stated.
“These people would generally get treatment, such as mental health or drug treatment.”
For example, San Francisco received a measly $4.3 million for the CARE Court mandatory treatment program despite needing about $50 million.
Nonetheless, Newsom distanced himself from politicians, saying that the failure to address the homelessness problem has caused people to lose confidence in them. California Democrats such as Rep. Robert Garcia and Sen. Alex Padilla are busy fighting for the return of illegal aliens while their constituents are dying on the streets.
“Enough of the rhetoric. I’m serious. Enough of the rhetoric. People are dying in this state. It is a disgrace. It is one of the principal reasons people are so angry. They don’t trust politicians. They don’t like what they see,” he said.
“I’m sorry to get so intense about it. It’s a moral issue. They need to do their job. And if they can’t do it, let me know. Just say, ‘We give up,’ and then we’ll intervene.”
It is only now that he feels strongly about the homelessness problem, which has, for a long time, been an eyesore, suggesting that he has not been paying attention.
According to Trump, he is among the politicians who need to pick up their slack. In 2019, President Trump threatened to intervene over Newsom’s alleged poor handling of the homelessness problem.
“Governor Gavin N has done a really bad job on taking care of the homeless population in California. If he can’t fix the problem, the Federal Govt. will get involved!” Trump tweeted.
In a moment of clarity, Newsom had also reflected on how he could have helped a homeless young man who later died, which is the fate of many other homeless people.
“I met a young man, literally was out there doing Project Homeless Connect, reaching out near the 405 freeway. I found out the next day he was dead. In this — the name of compassion. I could have helped him that night. I felt like a fraud. I felt like I let him down.”
Nailed it! Yes, he could have done more, and yes, he is a fraud. For nearly 20 years of his political career, he has presided over systemic failure to address the homelessness problem.
