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As Gavin Newsom ramps up his almost certain campaign for president, and polls put him in contention for the Democratic Party’s nomination in 2028, he has become a favorite target of right-leaning commentators on network television and in YouTube videos and social media.

Dan Walters

CalMatters

Opinion

While some criticism is grounded in fact and reasonable differences, there’s also a substrata of highly exaggerated, even fictional, output. Talking heads present him not as an ambitious politician who poses as a selfless public servant — something they all do, including the current president — but as a crooked charlatan.

There’s plenty of material in Newsom’s nearly three decades-long political career

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