Gov. Gavin Newsom’s off-key speech to an empty Dodger Stadium falls flat
Threatened by a potential recall election after a year during which COVID-19 killed nearly 55,000 Californians, Gov. Gavin Newsom delivered an optimistic speech in an empty Dodger Stadium on Tuesday night.
It was a little weird. Helicopters, apparently searching for a murder suspect, buzzed in the background as Newsom whizzed through the lines of his third State of the State speech with uncharacteristic speed.
His staff had framed the Los Angeles location as highly symbolic. First, the stadium’s 56,000 seats are nearly equal to the number of Californians who have died from COVID so far. Second, Dodger Stadium is now one of the largest vaccination sites in the nation. Finally, the baseball stadium reminded us of Newsom’s rosy plan to beat COVID and reopen the state in time for baseball’s opening day on April 1.
Talk about a mixed message. Newsom called the empty seats “a silent tribute to loved ones who live forever in our memories,” so I naturally found myself thinking about my Uncle Leroy, who died of COVID in East Los Angeles in January.
The somber mood inspired by this gesture made Newsom’s grinning, 30-minute victory speech seem off-key. While he did vaguely admit to making some mistakes, the speech was an attempt to rewrite history and frame California’s pandemic response as a moment of historic leadership.
“From the earliest days of the pandemic, California trusted in science and data,” Newsom said. “We met the moment.”
Fact check: Newsom’s erratic leadership during the pandemic often appeared to be at odds with the advice of public health experts. Twice, he hastily reopened the state, leading to surges in COVID infections and deaths. While he acted decisively in the early weeks, his resolve soon collapsed. As I wrote in August: “Gavin Newsom met the moment. Then, he crumbled.”
Other governors made similar mistakes, but Newsom should avoid the temptation to flatter himself by revising history.
Back to the speech: Newsom then proceeded to rattle off some grim statistics. Despite having the highest death toll in the nation, Newsom said, “California’s death rate has remained one of the lowest per capita in the nation: 134 deaths per 100,000, compared to 158 nationally, 153 in Texas and 247 in New York.”
Take that, Andrew Cuomo. Too bad the empty stadium seats could not applaud this achievement.
In retrospect, the governor would have been better off in a less grandiose venue. As someone who has written many speeches for many politicians, I know you never want the boss speaking to an empty room, much less a stadium with 54,395 imaginary dead people.
One reader said the setup reminded her of the time Clint Eastwood gave a rambling 12-minute speech to an empty chair at the 2012 Republican National Convention. But Newsom’s speech was organized and purposeful. It sought to repackage 2020 as a success, downplay the recall and make the case for Newsom’s re-election.
Typical of the genre, it was light on details — except for accomplishments. Newsom name-checked policy moves on climate change, COVID relief and fire prevention. He also highlighted the state’s billion-dollar efforts to get tens of thousands of homeless Californians indoors with programs like Project Roomkey and Project Homekey.
“We did this cheaper and faster than homeless housing has ever been built in California history, literally rewriting the book on how to tackle homelessness,” Newsom said of the state’s efforts to move 35,000 homeless people indoors and create 6,000 new permanent housing units by “buying hotels and motels and converting them at a third of the cost of traditional supportive housing.”
Now, there’s a concrete example of creativity and commitment worth touting. Perhaps he should have given the speech at a full motel instead of in an empty stadium.
This story was originally published March 10, 2021 at 10:37 AM.