Politics
Gavin Newsom’s ‘Gotcha’ Post Brutally Backfires: ‘I’ve Been Incompetent For Years’
California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom attempted to be clever over the weekend by providing what he thought would be clarification and context for photos and videos being shared online that claim to be taken from riots that exploded on Friday.
However, things blew up in his face rather spectacularly.
Actor and outspoken conservative James Woods shared a video from a riot that shows a police car on fire and rioters engaged in widespread chaos. The photo was captioned, “If I hear one more leftist shill in mainstream media utter the words ‘peaceful protest,’ I’ll throw up.”
Newsom responded to the post by saying the footage was from the 2020 riots following the death of George Floyd. That could be true, but Newsom didn’t expect the response he received.
Kate Hyde, a one-time Fox News personality, shared the post, cooking up a hilarious (though made-up) quote from the governor that reads, “ACTUALLY I’ve been incompetent for years.”
The implication here is that Newsom inadvertently pointed out that what’s going on in Los Angeles right now isn’t the first time lawless behavior erupted under his watch.
Newsom has also been in a verbal sparring match with President Donald Trump over his decision to deploy 2,000 National Guard troops to assist local police in dealing with the unruly mob tearing up the city.
Newsom accused Trump of stirring the pot and increasing the violence tearing through Los Angeles by issuing an order to send in troops. He also slammed the president for allegedly overstepping his boundaries.
“This is exactly what Donald Trump wanted,” Newsom said in a post on X. “He flamed the fires and illegally acted to federalize the National Guard. The order he signed doesn’t just apply to CA. It will allow him to go into ANY STATE and do the same thing.”
Footage from the chaos provides a prime example of just how out of control things have become on the streets. A group of a dozen people form a circle, many of them wearing masks to conceal their identity — and avoid any actual consequences for their lawlessness — while they burn an American flag.
Some go on to spit on it. Later, a second flag is added, and both are sprayed with flammable liquid to keep the blaze going. Other protesters held up the flags of South American countries, like Mexico, chanting “F-Trump.”
The LAPD has officially declared the “mostly peaceful protests” to be an “unlawful assembly,” clearly overwhelmed by the large group of demonstrators. However, Newsom is angry with the president for the National Guard troops, saying the police didn’t need help to contain the situation.
