Washington Examiner columnist Joe Concha slammed a Vanity Fair article in which Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) said he’s a “disruptor at heart.”
“I’ve been at this awhile. To the extent I’m established, in that context — but I’m notoriously a disruptor at heart. I’ve never been for the status quo. Quite the contrary. I have a record that consistently challenges the status quo, and I tend to take risks to a degree that few elected officials do,” Newsom told Vanity Fair.
The article, titled “Gavin Newsom Is Ready for His Next Act. Will Democrats Ever Give Him a Shot at the White House?” details Newsom’s 2028 aspirations.
Concha said Newsom stays true to the essence of the magazine with his own vanity.
“Sycophantic is the only word that comes to mind,” Concha said on Fox News’s Fox & Friends First Thursday.
“Vanity is what Gavin Newsom is all about. And if you look up ‘status quo’ in the dictionary, literally his picture is probably right there.”
Concha said Newsom “disrupted California” by trying to build a failing high-speed rail from Los Angeles to San Francisco. The California High-Speed Rail Authority now estimates the first phase won’t be completed until 2032, according to its 2026 business plan. State Sen. Tony Strickland, vice chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, told the New York Post it will cost “$231 billion and climbing” for the whole program.
He “disrupted the budget by not laying down even one track,” Concha said.
Concha also highlighted the high taxes, homelessness, and poverty rates in California.
“He still has the highest homeless rate in the country that is disruptive to communities in places like San Francisco, Sacramento, and Los Angeles,” Concha said.
Concha also highlighted the devastating impact of the California wildfires and that homes have still not been rebuilt.
An investigation in June showed millions of dollars from Newsom’s wildfire relief fund, aimed at helping victims of the 2025 fires, were diverted to anti-ICE riots.
Vanity Fair asked Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) about Newsom in the same article.
“He wants the rhetoric of boldness without actually the courage of pissing people off. … The politician that Gavin Newsom most resembles is Bill Clinton,” Khanna said.
While Khanna meant the comparison critically, Newsom has embraced Clinton as political inspiration and named him as a role model, according to Fox News.
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Concha argued that in 1994, when Clinton lost the midterm election, he pivoted more to the center and would probably be a Republican today.
“Gavin Newsom, if you could find me anywhere where he has negotiated with Republicans the way Bill Clinton did, you win valuable prizes,” Concha said.