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Standing Up to the Stone Cold Lie: HERE COMES MR. NEWSOM, [1]
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Date: 2025-06-13
Standing Up to the Stone Cold Lie
The West Point History Professor—a sharp, frequently acerbic observer of American political drama—recently published a provocative post titled “What Just Happened?”, a sweeping and dramatic account of California Governor Gavin Newsom's rising political star following his blunt confrontation with Donald Trump.
I too know Gavin Newsom and remember well the beginning of his political career. I was a major contributor to his first campaign for Mayor of San Francisco. If I have any disagreement with the History Professor’s view, it lies in his minimization of Newsom’s accomplishments as both Mayor and Governor. His early and courageous support for gay marriage as Mayor in 2004 was not just historic—it was momentous. It defied federal law, enraged conservatives, and ignited a national movement that ultimately led to the legalization of same-sex marriage nationwide.
As Mayor, Gavin:
⁃ Legalized same-sex marriage licenses in San Francisco, challenging national policy and sparking a national debate.
⁃ Advanced environmental sustainability, implementing one of the most aggressive municipal climate action plans in the country.
⁃ Pushed forward housing and urban development plans, including the transformation of Hunters Point and Treasure Island.
⁃ Focused on universal healthcare access, launching Healthy San Francisco, the first program of its kind to offer healthcare to all adult residents regardless of immigration status.
As Governor, Gavin:
⁃ Managed California through the COVID-19 pandemic with early shutdowns and a science-forward approach, despite intense political backlash.
⁃ Expanded Medi-Cal to cover undocumented residents and enhanced paid family leave benefits.
⁃ Advanced aggressive climate policies, including a mandate banning the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035.
⁃ Oversaw historic budget surpluses, investing billions into housing, homelessness services, wildfire resilience, and renewable energy.
Despite the omission of these accomplishments, the History Professor rightly highlights Newsom’s emerging leadership in the escalating battle against Donald Trump and his enablers. This is not just political theater—it’s a fight for the survival of the Constitution, democratic norms, and the idea of America itself. Trump and his minions seek to replace this vision with a second-rate oligarchy, and Newsom’s direct challenge—on national television, in courtrooms, and on the ground in California—may mark the beginning of a critical turning point.
WHAT JUST HAPPENED?
(Adapted from the West Point History Professor's original post)
There is a popular 1940s movie, Here Comes Mr. Jordan, about an aging boxer who gets knocked out. He’s declared dead in the ring.
When he gets to heaven, he bitterly complains that he wasn’t supposed to die. “The other guy just got a lucky punch!” The angel in charge, Mr. Jordan (Claude Rains), looks him up in the heavenly journal and says, “You’re right! But your body is dead, so we have to find you a new one.” The now-dead boxer (Robert Montgomery) gets inserted into a new body, bounces back to life, gets his girl, and wins the championship against the guy that knocked him out. Who says Hollywood dreams don’t come true?
HERE COMES MR. NEWSOM, BREATHING NEW LIFE INTO THE “DEAD DEMOCRATIC PARTY” He’s providing it with his own body—one that’s very much alive. What the hell just happened?
First, what immediately just happened was the Governor of California called the President of the United States “a stone cold liar” in a widely circulated interview yesterday. “Stone Cold Liar” is a term reserved for the utterly and shamelessly dishonest. It’s from classical literature—“stone cold” evoking a tomb—and more recently, part of African American vernacular and hip hop culture. It is unheard of in modern discourse between Governors and Presidents.
Mr. Newsom not only said Trump was a stone cold liar; he also castigated the media for ignoring Trump’s cognitive decline, his Air Force One stairway stumbles, and his fantasy narratives:
“The National Guard was never deployed on the streets yesterday. Yet the President said they were. He said they dispersed crowds and prevented mayhem and carnage. It flat didn’t happen. He’s much worse cognitively than four years ago. He’s completely gone. And the people around him are complicit. Why isn’t this being reported?”
Well, Governor Newsom—welcome to Washington. It’s been called many things. The muckraking columnist Drew Pearson named his column The Washington Merry-Go-Round. It’s also been called a swamp and a cesspool. Donald Trump fits right in. He’s the biggest alligator in that dark, foggy bog. Are you sure you want to take him on?
THE BACKSTORY
I’ve known Gavin Newsom since I moved to San Francisco 27 years ago. He was a young Supervisor—what the rest of the country calls a city councilman. He was also managing partner of a restaurant, wine, and cheese store and developed a Napa Valley winery, all in partnership with the Getty family.
His father, Judge Bill Newsom, was the Getty family’s attorney and trust administrator. Bill was instrumental in negotiating the release of John Paul Getty III, kidnapped in Italy in 1967. He had the guts to deliver the ransom to the terrorists. The family was understandably very grateful.
Gavin Newsom was elected Mayor of San Francisco in 2004, defeating Public Defender Matt Gonzalez. He succeeded Willie Brown, the city’s most influential Mayor since the days of James Rolph.
Newsom, as a politician, has had a tough road. He’s succeeded legends like Brown and Jerry Brown and spent years in their shadows. Willie reimagined San Francisco as a modern tech megalopolis, transforming the gutted industrial South of Market into a “shining city on the hill,” as Reagan would say.
Willie planned it; Newsom built it. It was a controversial time to be a builder mayor. He took heat from San Francisco’s large progressive base.
When Jerry Brown left office in 2018, Newsom stepped into the Governor’s chair. Once again, in the shadow of a legend.
But even then, he was again in the shadow of a legend. That is—until yesterday.
GAVIN HITS THE BIG TIME
He sues Trump. He demands his National Guard back. He restores order. And he calls the President a “stone cold liar.”
This past weekend, Gavin Newsom hit the big time. With two years left in office, he now has the chance to organize a 2028 presidential campaign.
What was missing until now was a defining “why.” Why should voters in red and blue states support him?
Presto! Trump handed him the golden opportunity. The President falsely claims California is overrun by migrant gangs burning down L.A., and seizes control of the National Guard. It’s a stone cold lie.
Newsom responds. He goes on national television to deny the chaos narrative and assert that local authorities have control. These are mostly peaceful protests, with a few bad actors being arrested. The media confirms: LAPD is restoring order—no National Guard troops.
Then Newsom pushes back hard. He condemns Trump’s “Dragnet” of California, where masked ICE agents storm homes and workplaces. He sues the President. A legal and political war begins.
Win or lose, Newsom has a platform—and a real fight to lead. He can prove to Middle America that he’s a constitutionalist who enforces immigration law with fairness and due process. That he’ll stand up to a President who has trampled the Constitution, traumatized families, and risked the economy—California’s and the nation’s.
He’s got the spotlight now. And the stage.
Lights! Camera! Action!
—The West Point History Professor
[email protected]
[END]
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