JOSH BARRO: Gavin Newsom Is Gross and Embarrassing and Will Never Be President.

Dear readers,

I have a rant.

In theory, Gavin Newsom is running for re-election as governor of California. But he is also, in the least subtle way possible, trying to position himself for a presidential run.

He’s challenged Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis — also nominally just a candidate for re-election — to a national debate on CNN. And he’s used re-election campaign funds to put up billboards in South Carolina and six other states advertising the availability of abortion in California. And there has been a steady stream of news stories, obviously fueled by the governor’s allies, about how he stands ready to run for president as soon as the Democratic nomination becomes available.

I hate this for a few reasons.

First: The posturing is gross and cheap. The abortion billboards say “California is ready to help,” but they direct readers to a website that does little more than inform readers that abortion is legal in California and they may travel there to receive one. Gee, thanks. California does not, in fact, offer anything especially useful to women living 2,000 miles away who need abortions — if you need an abortion you can’t get in South Carolina, your likely best option is to travel to North Carolina. The billboards amount to using women in red states as a prop to burnish Newsom’s image. Similarly, proposing to debate DeSantis on CNN (about what, immigration policy neither of them controls?) does nothing to address migrant issues. It’s all about how these issues can be used to draw attention to Gavin Newsom.

Not surprisingly for a flailing governor of a failing state, Newsom has a serious case of TDS: Gavin Newsom Tells a Whopper During Discussion About Massive California Exodus. “Newsom says people are fleeing California ‘because of visa policies in the Trump administration.’ I know Newsom relishes residing in fantasyland and also enjoys the luxury of a dutifully compliant state and national press that rarely challenges him, but this is just straight-up bull. One doesn’t need to take my word for it, either. As recently as July, even the Democrat apologists at the Los Angeles Times wrote a report on why people were leaving and – shocker of shockers – the main reasons people were packing up and moving out of California in record numbers were the high cost of living including outrageously high home prices, rising violent crime including deadly smash and grabs, and out of control homelessness[.]”

How many people are leaving California? U-Haul Literally Ran Out of Trucks Leaving California.

How’s that Welcome Wagon program coming along?