Gov. Newsom Trumpets ‘California Derangement Syndrome’ Instead of Doing His Job

The Southern California “Sandy” fire currently burning in Simi Valley, has torched 1,700 acres in 24 hours – something California Governor Gavin Newsom should be focused on like a laser beam, after last year’s Pacific Palisades, Malibu and Altadena fires, and epic failure to rebuild. Instead, doing everything but his job, Gov. Newsom was in Washington DC today at the Center for American Progress IDEAs conference talking trash on President Donald Trump and his administration, and whining about “a growing condition known as California Derangement Syndrome (CDS). Newsom claims this is “a disorder marked by chronic misinformation, selective outrage, and a refusal to acknowledge measurable progress in the Golden State.”

We first heard of this newly discovered psychological phenomenon at Newsom’s May Budget Revise last week.

Gov. Newsom claims in a press statement that “Many in the right wing are falling ill after consuming repeated misinformation from right-wing outlets like Fox News, the New York Post, Breitbart, and Newsmax — which insist California is a dystopian crime-ridden communist wasteland. Treatment is available and requires no insurance: facts, data, and a brief consultation with the information below.”

Interesting choice of words. https://t.co/MNWZ8wA608

— Katy Grimes (@KATYSaccitizen) May 19, 2026

The overly sensitive Young Man in a Hurry, Gov. Newsom, was good enough to lay out for us all of the issues that keep him up at night, and have him feeling insecure as he continues on his 4-year Presidential campaign.

Let Gov. Newsom call it “California Derangement Syndrome” all he wants – we know this is the real California under his reign of incompetence and corruption since 2019, because we have been documenting it since he was elected. And we even updated the Top 50 Disasters Gov. Gavin Newsom Has Ushered into California: 2025 Edition. 2026 edition coming soon!

Gavin Newsom complaining that Trump and his admin are corrupt is projection – attributing one’s own unacceptable urges to another.
Newsom, meet Freud. https://t.co/3Yt22kQDZY

— Katy Grimes (@KATYSaccitizen) May 19, 2026

Remember that the California State Auditor published a scathing report in December 2025 that is an unvarnished indictment of Governor Gavin Newsom and his administration,” the Globe reported, following the Auditor’s new report. “The report should have everyone living in California horrified.”

“The Auditor’s report finds Gavin Newsom while in his final year as governor, has upended the state’s financial structure, compromised public safety, and left the state’s infrastructure in far worse condition.”

So Gov. Newsom’s claim that “the declinists, the pundits, and critics suffering from California Derangement Syndrome look at this state and try to tear down our progress,” is a false as his claims to have facilitated “California’s success.”

Governor Newsom announces common signs of “California Derangement Syndrome” — and highlights easy cures

Here is what has Gov. Gavin Newson’s feeling so insecure as the Presidential campaign looms large, with Kamala Harris’s polling stronger than Newsom’s – Newsom’s “symptoms” are his tell. His “cures” are the wish. We give you the GLOBE TRUTH:

SYMPTOM: “Homelessness is only getting worse.” 

CURE: Unsheltered homelessness dropped the most in 15 years 

Newsom says, “California’s unsheltered homelessness declined by roughly 9.5% in regions reporting 2025 data — even as homelessness rose more than 18% nationally in 2024. After decades of neglect before Governor Newsom took office, California is now bending the curve while many red states continue to see increases.”

GLOBE TRUTH: As governor, Gov. Gavin Newsom has spent $37 billion on homelessness since 2019, according to the California Legislative Analyst’s Office, only to grow California’s homeless population exponentially.

Remember when Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has presided over the exponential growth of hundreds of thousands of homeless drug addicts living on California streets, magically cleaned up San Francisco ahead of the arrival of Chinese President Xi Jinping and the Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit?

SYMPTOM: “Crime is out of control”

CURE: Crime is near record lows in California

Newsom says, “Crime in California continues to drop. Last year, California recorded the second-lowest homicide rate since 1969, while overall theft reached the second-lowest level ever recorded. New preliminary data from the FBI shows crime continues to drop, with homicides down 16.51%  and  property crime down 14.35%. If current trends hold, California could see its lowest homicide rate ever recorded once final statewide 2025 data are released. In addition, according to the Major Cities Chiefs Association, in 2024, violent crime fell in every major California city reporting data, with the largest drops in Oakland (25%) and San Francisco (21%) — while violent crime rose in cities like Atlanta and Omaha, and homicides increased in El Paso, Fort Worth, and Arlington.”

GLOBE TRUTH: According to the FBI, crime across the United States has been dropping significantly in recent years, with particularly sharp declines in 2024 and 2025.

The FBI reports that California’s crime rates remain higher than the national average for both violent and property crime (as of the latest full 2024 data), but the state has followed or exceeded national downward trends, reaching multi-decade lows. Passage of Proposition 36 has helped, despite Gov Newsom refusing to fund it.

 SYMPTOM: “People are leaving California.”

CURE: Population growth.

Newsom says, “California’s population has grown since 2020, rebounding from a brief pandemic-era dip that affected states across the country. And don’t forget — on a per-capita basis, more Floridians move to California than Californians moving to Florida.”

GLOBE TRUTH: This is patently false according to Census.gov. Far more Californians move to Florida than the reverse. According to the latest U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey state-to-state migration flows (2024 data, reflecting moves in the prior year):

• 36,000–50,000+ people moved from California to Florida in recent years (e.g., 50,701 in 2021–2022 data, and similar patterns held in 2023–2024 flows).
• 16,000–28,000 moved from Florida to California (e.g., 15,988 to California from Florida in the 2024 ACS table).

This results in a consistent net flow favoring Florida of roughly 12,000–22,000+ people per year in recent data. 

Gov. Newsom is deluding himself.

SYMPTOM: “Taxes in California are crushing working families.”

CURE: California taxes working families less than Texas and Florida.

Newsom says, “California has one of the most progressive tax systems in the country. That means low and middle-income families pay less in taxes than in places like Texas and Florida. Red states tax low-income earners more than the rich. In California, we stand for fairness — lowering taxes for military retirees, raising the minimum wage for fast-food workers to $20, and for health care workers to $25 an hour.”

GLOBE TRUTH: Newsom’s claim that “California taxes working families less than Texas and Florida” is true when emphasizing effective rates on lower/moderate working families, as California’s taxation system shifts most of the burden to high earners. The statement is more nuanced or false for higher-earning “working” families or broad averages. “Working families” is vague, but data supports it for the lower end. It is important to note that Texas and Florida are more competitive overall, especially for businesses and higher earners, with lower total burdens in some middle-class scenarios when factoring cost of living or specific cities.

This helps explain why so many of California’s higher earners and businesses are fleeing the state.

SYMPTOM: “Businesses are fleeing California.”

CURE: California is home to the most Fortune 500 companies in the world, and remains #1 for new business starts.

Newsom says, “For the second year in a row, California ranks highest on Fortune 500’s list as the state with the most corporations generating the largest revenues. As host to 58 Fortune 500 companies, California leads the nation — followed by Texas with 54 and New York with 53. California also leads the nation in business starts. The fact is, there are more new businesses starting in California than there are leaving. California is the largest economy in the nation, with a nominal GDP of nearly $4.25 trillion. The state is home to 33 of the world’s 50 leading AI companies, high-impact research and education institutions, and a quarter of the technology’s patents and conference papers. The Golden State is the nation’s top state for new business starts, access to venture capital funding, and manufacturing, high-tech business, and agriculture.“

GLOBE TRUTH: First, California is the largest state by far, in the entire country.

Grok gave some context with this, because so many of the statistics are provided by the Newsom and the California State government.

SYMPTOM: “California doesn’t manage its forests.”

CURE: Since 2019, the state has increased forest management project investments by 1,000%. No state is doing more.

News says, “Since 2019, California has increased forest management project investments by more than 10×, treating nearly 2 million acres — even as the federal government cuts the U.S. Forest Service, which manages 57% of forests in the state. Despite managing just 3% of forestland, California is doing more wildfire prevention than any state in the nation. View completed projects at https://wildfiretaskforce.org/.”

GLOBE TRUTH: This is a self-created state claim that Gov. News has made many times, in a totally partisan context. Note that he says he has increased “forest management project investments.” That’s not the same as actual forest clearing, brush removal, timber management, trees logged, and the like.

 SYMPTOM: “California is spending billions on education, but test scores stink.”

CURE: Test scores improved 4x year-over-year

Newsom says, “California student test scores are improving statewide, with significant gains across English language arts, math, and science. New results from the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress show California students posted significantly stronger year-over-year gains, with English language arts and science improving at four times last year’s pace and math gains doubling, showing accelerated academic progress across core subjects statewide.”

GLOBE TRUTH: Not so fast Governor. There is important context needed: it’s about the size of the gains, not the scores multiplying by 4X.

According to the PPIC:

 SYMPTOM: “California just makes life harder for working families.”

CURE: No state is doing more to lower costs — from health care to utility bill relief 

Newsom says, “No state is doing more to lower costs for working families. California extended its nation-leading Cap-and-Invest program, delivering nearly $16 billion in bill refunds to date, expanded Medi-Cal, launched CalRX to deliver $11 insulin, and reduced everyday costs through affordable child care, free universal preschool, free summer school, tuition-free community college, college savings accounts for every child, and expanded Paid Family Leave.”

GLOBE TRUTH: Fiction. California has implemented programs for subsidies, discounts, and cost-containment in health care and utilities, but it does not lead the nation in lowering overall costs. California’s residents face some of the highest costs in the U.S. for these categories, driven by high underlying prices, regulations, housing, and other factors.

Per capita health spending in California is at or above the national average, not among the lowest, according to the California Health Care Foundation. Many states like Utah and Idaho, have significantly lower per capita spending. California ranks around 16th–29th in various price or spending metrics after adjustments.

SYMPTOM: “California’s policies are the reasons drivers are paying more at the gas pump now.”

CURE: Not even close. Trump’s political machine is working overtime to blame anyone but the real culprit: Donald Trump himself.

Newsom says, “Trump launched a reckless war in Iran with no plan, and families across the country are paying for it at the pump — costing Americans nearly $23 billion since the start of the war. Gas prices are up 52% since the start of the war nationally, compared to 33% in California. In fact, gas prices in over two dozen states have risen by more than they have in California. California didn’t create this crisis — in fact, we created the strongest transparency and oversight tools in the nation to protect drivers, hold the oil industry accountable, and prevent California-specific gas price spikes. Only about 10% of the price of gasoline reflects CA-unique program costs, which are stable.”

GLOBE TRUTH: The national percentage increase is higher because many lower-price states saw larger relative jumps from a lower base. California’s higher baseline, due to taxes, refining costs, and regulations, results in a smaller percentage rise even with a comparable or larger absolute increase.

Prices have been volatile due to the Iran war and Strait of Hormuz turmoil, with national averages recently hitting four-year highs. California consistently has the nation’s highest prices.

SYMPTOM: “California has wild, out-of-control spending and is fiscally irresponsible.”

CURE: Governor Newsom balanced the budget eliminated California’s deficit while maintaining investments for working families, healthcare, education, and businesses.

Newsom says, “There’s no deficit this year. There’s no deficit next year. The Governor’s budget proposal eliminates the structural deficit to $0 through July 2028 — while investing in healthcare, education, and essential services for Californians.”

GLOBE TRUTH: California Legislative Analyst says “State is Ill-Prepared if Revenues Drop.”

“Despite booming revenues, the budget position is overextended, reflecting: a structurally higher spending base, diminished reserves, an already accumulated wall of debt, and an operating deficit.”