Who is Gavin Newsom, the Democratic Governor? The Man of the “Left“, who Looks to Conservatives between the Fight against the Homeless and Criticism of „Black Lives Matters“?

Trump has declared that he wants his arrest and Newsom has filed a lawsuit calling him a “dictator”. But in recent months the governor of California seems to want to speak to a right-wing electorate. With an eye on the presidential elections. President Donald Trump said he would love to see him in handcuffs. “I would if I were Tom. I think it would be great”, the tycoon told reporters on his way back to Washington from Camp David, referring to Tom Homan, acting director of the „United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement“, also known as the “border czar,” the administration’s armed wing against immigrants.

The man to be arrested is Gavin Newsom, governor of California. His crime? Having spoken out against sending the “National Guard” to the West Coast to quell protests against the indiscriminate arrests of immigrants ordered by the White House. “This is a day I hoped to never see in America”, Newsom wrote on “X”. “I don’t care if you’re a Democrat or a Republican, this is a line we cannot cross as a nation: It’s an unmistakable step toward authoritarianism.” And again: “These are the acts of a dictator, not a president.”

In recent days, Trump has repeatedly targeted Newsom, calling him “grossly incompetent” and saying that he has done “a terrible job” as governor of America’s most populous state. The governor, a member of the Democratic Party, has attempted to maintain good relations with the president: He was the face of resistance during the tycoon’s first term, but was welcoming during his first visit to California at the beginning of his second.

Fifty-eight years old, the son of an appeals court judge, Newsom was mayor of San Francisco between 2004 and 2011, Jerry Brown’s deputy at the helm of California, and then governor since 2019. At the helm of the state with the bear on the flag, he has had to deal with several emergencies starting with Covid: He has signed a long series of lockdowns that have displeased both conservatives and moderates. In recent months, it has been the turn of the fires that have devastated the state for years and the crisis caused by the exponential increase in the number of homeless people living on the streets of San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Faced with the vacuum of the Democratic Party's political offerings, in recent months Newsom seemed to want to accredit himself as a future presidential candidate. A candidate capable of speaking to a conservative audience as well. The will became clear at the beginning of March, when the governor launched his new podcast, entitled "This Is Gavin Newsom".

Already in the first episode, Newsom seemed eager to abandon his history of support for LGBTQ rights, to get closer to figures like Charlie Kirk, one of the most well-known faces in the conservative political world and founder of the conservative association "Turning Point USA", agreeing with the latter on the issue of transgender athletes.

"I think it's a question of fairness, I completely agree with you on this", he told Kirk, aligned with Trump's positions according to which trans athletes do not have the right to participate in competitions in which women compete.

In the same podcast he also criticized the so-called "cancel culture" so dear to the Democrats of the "Bidenian" rite and the Black Lives Matter movement. All this after becoming the first Democrat to see Trump in the Oval Office to ask for assistance after the fires that devastated Los Angeles in January.

Newsom's American biography ...

In 1967 Gavin Newsom was born in San Francisco, California. When he was three years old, his parents divorced and he and his sister Hilary were raised by their mother. His childhood was marked by his struggle with dyslexia. According to him, this disorder led him to find alternative solutions that he still uses today to carry out his role as governor.

Despite his academic difficulties, he shone as a sportsman, particularly in basketball and baseball. Newsom graduated in 1989 with a degree in „Political Science“ from Santa Clara University. During his years of study he spent a semester in Rome.

He then embarked on an entrepreneurial path. Newsom, together with some investors, started several businesses including wineries, cafes and retail clothing stores. He co-founded „PlumpJack“, a group of companies in the wine, restaurant and hospitality sectors. Over the years, his businesses have also extended to restaurants and hotels.

Newsom's first political experience came in the 1990s, when he volunteered for Willie Brown's mayoral campaign. Brown was the first African-American mayor of San Francisco. In 1996, Brown appointed him to a vacancy on the „Parking and Traffic Commission“. Newsom has since held several positions in city politics. He has brought his business experience with him and has sometimes been challenged for his support of business interests.

Gavin Newsom was elected mayor of San Francisco in 2003, winning a close runoff election. Newsom ran as a moderate, centrist Democratic candidate. In 2004, he ordered the San Francisco City and County Clerk to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, violating state law. Although the licenses were later revoked for conflicting with state law, the move brought national attention to the issue of marriage equality in the United States.

In 2010, he won election as lieutenant governor of California and was re-elected in 2014. In 2018, he became governor of California and was re-elected to a second consecutive term in 2022. As governor, he has handled several emergencies, including the COVID-19 pandemic, wildfires, and the immigration crisis, cementing his national profile.

Newsom recently became the subject of a clash with President Trump over the response to the protests in Los Angeles. The California governor opposed Trump's unprecedented decision to send in the National Guard to manage the demonstrations.