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By Jim Mamer
A few days ago (5-9-26), ScheerPost ran an article titled Gavin Newsom, A Candidate Fit for Dystopia. The title seemed curious to me because it suggested that Newsom would be the perfect candidate for a society where life is very, very bad and where most people are fearful of a totalitarian government. Given our present situation, it seemed a bit of an overstatement.
I’m not the biggest fan of Governor Newsom, but I can’t imagine he could be more enthusiastic about totalitarianism than the president we currently have. After all, it is Trump who openly supports authoritarian tendencies, not Newsom. And unless I’m way off base, I believe Trump has every intention of living forever and evolving into a mentally deranged emperor. Newsom does not fit that mold.
So why did I read the article? Partly because it was preceded by an uncommon note from the current managing editor, Josh Scheer. In it, he wrote that he was posting the piece because he believes in presenting a wide range of perspectives and encouraging open debate. Since I like reading a wide range of perspectives and hearing open debate, I decided to read the article.
Unfortunately, it is simply anti-Newsom. There is little discussion of who he is now, even if I agree with some of the criticism. The governor was wrong, for example, to attend a private dinner at the French Laundry during the COVID lockdown.
But the article mentions other things that are not at all relevant to the person Newsom has become. He is charged with having been a mediocre student and a “nepo baby” who struggled with alcohol. Is this really relevant to him being a “Candidate Fit for Dystopia?”
No evidence is presented that he actually was a mediocre student except for his inability to pass a course in statistics. Maybe he was, but he is not a student now. The case against Trump as a mediocre student is a lot stronger.
The second charge is that he was a “nepo baby,” which is an unnecessary insult meaning “rich kid.” His parents were wealthy, I understand that, but that was not really his fault, was it?
Struggling with alcohol has a history in my family too, and I know it can be a very difficult battle. But since the governor, according to what I’ve read, no longer has that problem, he should be congratulated. I’m sure he does not need reminding.
There are even some positives about Newsom, but they go unmentioned. I give him credit for his rivalry with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and for his feud with Trump. There are not nearly enough governors who have put up as much of a fight against either. Most members of both houses of Congress have been unbelievable cowards.
The most relevant criticism in the article is his support for Israel. He has said more than once that Israel has not committed genocide in Gaza. He is wrong, and the article is correct that this position might disqualify him from becoming president. At least he has criticized Israeli assaults, but I agree it is not enough.
And although I missed this point in the article, the fact that Newsom signed Assembly Bill No. 715 in October 2025, in my mind, totally disqualifies him as the next Democratic candidate.
There is one other odd comment I found in the article that I don’t understand. The piece mentions self-made men such as Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. Clearly, neither were “nepo babies,” but the article adds that, to an extent, even President Trump is a self-made man in business. That is nonsense for a number of reasons, but I’ll cite only one.
The New York Times investigative review of Trump’s inheritance concluded that Donald received the present-day equivalent of about $413 million from his father, Fred Trump, or from his father’s estate over the years. Some of it probably would have gone to other heirs if not for Donald’s manipulations.
The Trump inheritance example only underscores the larger issue: if we’re going to label someone “a candidate fit for dystopia,” the case needs to rest on present actions, not old personal history or selective framing. I value open debate, which is why I read the piece, but debate is strongest when grounded in relevance, proportion, and evidence. Newsom deserves criticism — especially on Israel — but he also deserves to be judged on who he is now, not on caricatures that distract from the real dangers we face.
Jim Mamer
Jim Mamer is a retired high school teacher. He was a William Robertson Coe Fellow for the Study of American History at Stanford University in 1984. He served as chair of the History and Social Sciences department for 20 years (first at Irvine High and then at Northwood High). He was a mentor teacher in both Modern American History and Student Assessment. In 1992 he was named History and Social Sciences Teacher of the Year by the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS).
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