Staff Reports
California's appeal is diminishing as its inhabitants migrate to Republican-leaning states in pursuit of better opportunities and autonomy. For three consecutive years, U-Haul has ranked California as the state with the most negative net migration in terms of truck rentals. This trend is understandable given the circumstances: school closures, business shutdowns and penalties, and government persecution of dissenting voices and uncooperative journalists. It's not surprising that people are leaving California en masse.
California Man Announces Plan to Leave California, Travel to Red States https://t.co/2JsrSI4TEt
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) April 5, 2023
Among the residents of California, Governor Gavin Newsom stands out as he is not leaving permanently but instead embarking on a political tour of states led by the GOP. He argues that these states are descending into fascism and intends to confront "authoritarian leaders" such as Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Greg Abbott, and Ron DeSantis, who he alleges are "directly assaulting our freedoms." Newsom accuses these governors of prohibiting books and targeting transgender children.
NEW: President Biden's advisers and close allies don't expect him to announce a run for re-election any time soon. Some now believe it could come as late as July, or perhaps even the fall.https://t.co/IY9Q2jbRJ0
— Axios (@axios) April 3, 2023
Fox News Digital inquired about whether Governor Newsom's travel was being funded by the state and if he believed that his travels violated the essence of his own law. However, Newsom's office did not respond to the query. Last week, the California governor invested $10 million into a new PAC, making bold allegations about Republicans in GOP-controlled states, such as referring to their governors as "authoritarian leaders." The travel boycott imposed by California was designed to put economic pressure on states that prohibited transgender bathrooms or established other anti-LGBT policies. However, the law mostly had the opposite effect as red states held steadfast to their policies, and the number of banned states has increased from four in 2017 to 23 currently.
Governor Newsom's present excursion is a public relations tour worth several million dollars, intended to showcase his enthusiasm for combat and impress the progressive base. This is a bid for presidential positioning, as Newsom is eager to run for president, particularly if Joe Biden opts out. While Biden continually implies that he intends to run for reelection, he has yet to formally announce his candidacy. Despite the fact that a majority of Democratic voters have told pollsters that they are unenthusiastic about a second Biden term, the party remains essentially immobile.
It is evident that Governor Newsom's travel is unrelated to a state Democrat's proposal to repeal the law, and that "no state-paid personnel will accompany him on his trip." He is traveling to Republican-run states for his personal political purposes, which goes against the essence of the politically criticized ban on state-sponsored and state-funded travel to 23 GOP-controlled states. California imposed a travel ban for political reasons, but Gavin must visit these states for his own reasons, hence the ban does not apply. Newsom's actions appear to be hypocritical, the sort of hypocrisy that Californians are tired of, contributing to the mass exodus.
