California Governor Gavin Newsom posted a Thanksgiving message on social media that had people wondering if the Brylcreem has been seeping into his melon.
Newsom, accompanied by his wife Jennifer, posted a video in which they discussed the true meaning of the holiday. A message of being humble and “appreciating what you have.”
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Which is super-easy to do when you just bought yourself a $9 million+ mansion.
“Thanksgiving is about gratitude,” Mrs. Newsom lectured. “It’s about appreciating what you have and who you’re with.”
The governor then chimed in, “And for Jen and I, that’s our kids and our extended family and friends. But we’re also grateful, well, for all of you, California. For all that the state is and for all that it stands for.”
To put it mildly, the message was perceived as tone-deaf, given Newsom’s lavish lifestyle and the state’s widespread financial difficulties.
California’s first couple moved into a $9.1 million mansion in Marin County, which contrasted sharply with the economic struggles many Californians are facing, including high inflation and cost of living.
And social media users were quick with a reminder.
“As you destroy the finances of the State of California. How’s slumming in your $9.1 million mansion?” one viewer wrote. “Where did the [money] come from?”
“Happy Thanksgiving! How’s the weather over there in the $9 million mansion?” another replied. Will you be offering tours?”
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Then, there were the less subtle responses.
Gavin Newsom has an extensive history of eyebrow-raising home purchases based on the governor’s salary, which is reportedly just over $200,000.
RedState managing editor Jennifer Van Laar took a deep dive into a $3.7 million, 12,000-square-foot mansion in Sacramento. The home was gifted to him by an LLC owned by his cousin.
Just months after receiving the gift, Newsom took out a $2.695 million (tax-free) cash-out mortgage on the estate.
Is it any wonder the Golden State power couple is grateful and “appreciative of what they have”? And they’re likely far more appreciative this holiday season.
Newsom purchased his new mansion in Marin County, specifically in the affluent town of Kentfield, to split his time between there and the estate in Sacramento. Not many people on a public servant’s salary can afford the upkeep of two mansions alone, but here we are.
The Kentfield property spans 5,600 square feet and features six bedrooms, five and a half bathrooms, and amenities like floor-to-ceiling windows and a swimming pool. Newsom purchased the home through an LLC from billionaire Hyatt Hotels heir Daniel Pritzker.
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The purchase is already raising significant questions, most notably the formation of the LLC, MHBD Farms, just days before the purchase. Van Laar pointed out on X that the name of the LLC coincides with the first initial of Newsom’s children’s names — Montana, Hunter, Brooklynn, and Dutch.
“How can an entity that was just formed 11/12/24 close the purchase of a $9.1 million home 2 days later?” she asks.
Newsom accumulated significant wealth through a variety of businesses and investments early in his career. But the purchase has sparked controversy regarding his wealth, and the Thanksgiving Day message urging Californians to be humble was significantly off-key.
Being off-key and out of touch is a staple of Newsom’s gubernatorial career. That was punctuated just last month when the governor opted to take a stroll through Skid Row, tip-toeing around the homeless in his overpriced shoes while daintily sipping on his venti pumpkin spice latte.
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It’s actually a surprise that he didn’t hose down the streets before walking down Skid Row the way he did for Chinese President Xi Jinping during his visit to San Francisco last year.
Additionally, Newsom, as mayor of San Francisco back in 2004, implemented a program known as “Homeward Bound,” which scooped up the city’s homeless and sent them on one-way bus rides out of town.
A column by SFist at the time described it as a program with a nice name that masks the fact that it “gives unsheltered San Franciscans a one-way Greyhound bus ticket out of town and asks them to please never come back.”
Residents of California also remember the pandemic lockdowns. Newsom, like many blue state governors at the time, took advantage of arbitrary COVID rules to force families to stay at home while they were out living it up, not having to worry about the unwashed masses interrupting their good time.
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You may recall that, around Thanksgiving time in 2020, large gatherings were squashed, had to be held outdoors, and, of course, people had to be uber-masked.
Instead, Newsom was caught at an indoor party of 22 people, and nobody was wearing masks. Rules for thee, but not for me. And here he is, another November, telling people to appreciate all that he and his state have given them.
Newsom currently has a 27 percent favorability rating, which sits somewhere between the favorability ratings of cockroaches and gonorrhea.