Newsom State of the State speech challenged

Governor Gavin Newsom of California is clearly trying to position himself to be a major player in the 2028 presidential election.

He really put on a show during his final State of the State Address, but there was a small problem.

Much of what Newsom said was fiction, especially regarding the homeless situation, and pictures are blowing up all over the internet to prove it.

State of the State

One of Newsom’s biggest touts was that he had dropped the percentage of homeless in the state.

He claimed, “Early data, just compiled, shows that the number of unsheltered homeless people in California dropped 9% in 2025. We have not seen a drop like this in a decade and a half in California.

“Los Angeles, down 10.3%; Riverside, down 19%; Contra Costa County, down 34.8%. And I’ll remind you that last year, the nation saw an 18.1% overall increase in homelessness. Our investments are paying off.”

Newsom had also previously claimed that California’s population has continued to grow over the last three years, which is just an outright lie. After he made his claims, pictures of Skid Row and other parts of California were posted all over social media, and it sure looks like homelessness is thriving in California.

Bad Numbers

Newsom’s numbers were apparently based on a single survey that is now getting shredded by analysts.

Lisa Bates, chief executive officer of Sacramento Steps Forward, explained, “PIT Counts are widely recognized nationwide as an undercount of homelessness.

“No single-night survey — especially one conducted outdoors in January — can capture every unhoused person. Volunteers can only count those they see.”

Remember what I said before about juking the stats? Numbers these days are meaningless because you can always make them appear to be whatever you want. And that is what Newsom was doing here.

King of Fraud

That was not the end of the bad news for Newsom, as a federal prosecutor just announced that the fraud in California makes Minnesota look like child’s play.

U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California Bill Essayli stated, "California has spent $24 billion in the last five years on homelessness, and no one can account for where that money has really gone.”

He later added, "We already charged millions of dollars in fraud. I can tell you more charges are coming, probably as soon as this month."

Think about that number. That is nearly three times the fraud in Minnesota, and we have not even started to touch on what happened to COVID money and other HHS money, where we saw the fraud in Minnesota. My guess here is that the Trump administration is holding off the good stuff until Newsom officially announces, then he is going to get Walz’d.