How Gavin Newsom wants to ward off Donald Trump’s ‘misinformation machine’
Good morning and welcome to the A.M. Alert!
CAN NEWSOM FEND OFF TRUMP’S TROLLING?
Gov. Gavin Newsom is revitalizing his efforts to combat misinformation coming out of the White House after President Donald Trump dismissed the governor’s presidential aspirations earlier this week, doubled down on a falsehood that he had quelled the Los Angeles wildfires by flooding Central Valley farms, then said he would levy a 100% tax on all foreign-made films.
Newsom this week launched a fact-checking website, published an episode of his “This Is Gavin Newsom” podcast devoted to debunking the president’s latest missive to revert Alcatraz into a federal penitentiary, and took another jab at Trump after announcing a lawsuit to claw back electric vehicle funding that he said would help the president’s ally, Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
“We just launched a new site to call out the misinformation machine that consistently spews lies about CA,” Newsom said in a post on X. “And we’re done letting the trolls define the Golden State. We’re going on the offense and fighting back — with facts.”
The website, which is run via his Campaign For Democracy PAC, is a revamping of a previous fact-checking effort the governor launched in January in the wake of the devastating wildfires — but tapered off from after he began courting Trump for federal relief aid.
Democrats, reeling from their election loss, have struggled to coalesce around a winning (and sustainable) message to combat the volume of executive orders, social media posts, memes, and misinformation coming out of the White House, which Trump adviser Steve Bannon has called his “flood the zone” strategy to overwhelm the opposition.
Newsom initially came under fire from fellow Democrats last month for calling the plight of a wrongly deported Maryland man, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a “distraction” from Trump’s unpopular tariffs.
He quickly backtracked and praised California Rep. Robert Garcia’s trip to El Salvador to advocate on behalf of Abrego Garcia and Andry Hernandez Romero, an asylum seeker whom immigration officials deported from San Diego.
“This is what Donald Trump does. He doesn’t care if he’s the heel or the hero, as long as he’s the star and we’re talking about him,” Newsom said on his podcast in response to a listener’s question about the governor’s response to the Alcatraz news.
“And this is why it’s so important that we sort of distill the essence of what Trump is actually communicating, what he’s actually doing that has a real impact in our lives.”
CALIFORNIA DEMS CALL ON ISRAEL TO RESUME AID TO GAZA
Via David Lightman
Two California Democratic House members are leading a group of 94 colleagues in urging Israel to immediately resume humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.
Reps. Salud Carbajal, D-Santa Barbara, and Ami Bera, D-Sacramento, told Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Israeli Ambassador Yechiel Leiter in a letter they oppose the current Israeli policy blocking such aid from entering the Gaza Strip.
The letter says that the signers back a strong U.S.-Israel relationship.
“In addition to the harm imposed on Palestinian civilians, it is strategically counterproductive and will only hurt Israel’s international standing and long term security,” the congressmen said.
“While we share concerns about Hamas diverting humanitarian assistance, we encourage your government to work with the United States, alongside humanitarian organizations, to do everything possible to minimize the risk of diverted resources without harming civilians.”
The congressmen also said they support a ceasefire and hostage release deal to end the war between Israel and Hamas, calling a deal “the only option to alleviate the suffering of both Israelis and Palestinians.”
Israel stopped most aid to Gaza after Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 200 hostage. Israel did permit supplies to enter Gaza earlier this year during a ceasefire, but resumed a blockade several weeks ago.
Israel has said it is trying to pressure Hamas to release remaining Israeli hostages. CNN has reported that international aid organizations are seeing the makings of a man-made famine in Gaza.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Peace be with you!”
- The first remarks from Pope Leo XIV, leader of the Roman Catholic Church
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