Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has launched a blistering offensive against President Donald Trump, squarely blaming the administration’s federal overreach for California’s skyrocketing gas prices, all while refusing to take responsibility for the fact that Californians pay the highest gas prices in the nation on average.
California’s energy exodus began long before Trump returned to office. Newsom wants to blame Trump for every extra dollar drained from Californians’ wallets at the pump, but that argument ignores years of policies of his own making.
While he points across the aisle, his aggressive anti-fossil-fuel mandates, culminating in the recent Low Carbon Fuel Standard step-downs, have steadily eroded California’s energy independence and helped drive providers such as Chevron to Texas.
Newsom championed the era of “Bidenflation,” when gas prices across the country reached painful highs, while also layering on state-level mandates that ensured Californians never enjoyed the relief felt elsewhere. He supported policies that weakened the dollar, then signed regulations that drove fuel costs even higher.
That logic exposes a transparent double standard. When high energy costs serve his political agenda, they are dismissed as a small price to pay for progress. But the moment a political opponent takes action, Newsom suddenly rediscovers his moral outrage.
He remains a staunch advocate of continued funding for the war in Ukraine, yet as soon as Trump moves against the Iranian regime, Newsom is quick to cry “murderer,” conveniently forgetting that the Islamic Republic was bombed by each of Trump’s predecessors, from Clinton and Bush to Obama.
The coming rounds of new fuel standards are poised to do more than send gas prices higher. They also represent a direct assault on California’s workforce. By forcing a premature and artificial contraction of the energy sector, these mandates will inevitably lead to shuttered facilities and the loss of thousands of high-paying, skilled jobs.
When the companies that provide 20% of our crude oil are regulated into exile, the fallout will not be confined to a boardroom in Houston. It will be felt in empty storefronts and struggling households across the California communities these industries once supported.
Ultimately, Newsom’s crusade is a war of attrition against the middle class. Wealthy residents of Marin County or Malibu can afford the California premium at the pump and the soaring utility bills that follow his mandates.
But for Central Valley farmers and Inland Empire commuters, these are not mere policy adjustments. They are existential threats. It is the height of elitism to preach environmental purity from a podium in Sacramento while the people you represent are forced to choose between filling their tanks and feeding their families.
Newsom’s administration has presided over the most volatile and inflationary energy era in California’s history. Data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration show a staggering divergence. After bottoming out at a near-record low of $2.97 per gallon during Trump’s first term, prices under Newsom rose to a record $6.22 per gallon.
That represents a 109% increase, more than doubling a basic cost of living for every Californian who relies on a vehicle to get to work or care for a family. And beyond the market price, Sacramento’s appetite for taxation remains insatiable.
California imposes the highest state gas tax in the nation. When the base excise tax is combined with other state fees, Californians pay more than 90 cents in state taxes alone on every gallon of gas. This tax-on-tax structure ensures that even when global oil prices fall, California drivers remain trapped in a state-mandated cycle of high costs.
Meanwhile, this hostile regulatory climate has fueled an industrial exodus, pushing cornerstones of California’s economy, such as Chevron, to abandon the state for the relative stability of Texas, taking thousands of high-paying jobs and billions in tax revenue with them.
Newsom will continue pointing to foreign wars and political rivals to explain away the California premium. But for families choosing between a full tank of gas and a full bag of groceries, the source of the crisis is clear. It is not a tweet from Mar-a-Lago or a strike in the Middle East. It is the deliberate, systematic dismantling of the state’s energy independence.
NEWSOM’S WORST NIGHTMARE, AS ZUCKERBERG LEAVES CALIFORNIA
It is time to stop governing by ideology and start governing for the Californians who actually have to pay the bill.
If this is any indication of how Newsom would govern the country if elected president in 2028, Americans have every reason to worry.