California Gov. Gavin Newsom is apparently playing the Ebenezer Scrooge in “A 2028 White House Carol,” and the first Dickensian apparition to visit him is the Ghost of Don’t-You-Ever-Learn.
Newsom — who’s had repeated problems with both wining and dining over his career in public service — now faces a new problem involving both: While Los Angeles burned in anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement riots over the early part of June, the Golden State governor and likely 2028 Democratic presidential challenger decided to go to what a report described as “a luxury wine-tasting.”
From Christopher Rufo and Ryan Thorpe in City Journal:
The wine-tasting was held on the afternoon of June 7, 2025, at the Odette Estate Winery, which Newsom co-founded in 2011. Dubbed “Vineyard Vibes,” the event was a fundraiser for the PlumpJack Foundation, founded by Newsom’s sister, and featured “contemporary yet sophisticated” wines, live jazz music, and locally made pizza and smash burgers. “It’s the perfect kick-off to summer fun,” read promotional language. “The fete will take place on the Winery Crushpad, where we’ll gather for music, food, conversation, and delicious wine!”
A source who photographed Newsom at the event expressed shock that the governor was in attendance, given that riots had broken out in Los Angeles the day before. “I couldn’t believe it,” the source said. “He was just walking around like this was an everyday occurrence.” Newsom was at the wine party for at least 90 minutes, according to the source, who said that when the governor finally left, he appeared to retreat to the inner rooms of his winery.
And keep in mind the date: This is when Newsom’s steady hand could have prevented this from becoming much worse than it eventually became. Indeed, these were the scenes on the ground the day that he attended the event:
Supercut of the June 7th riots in Los Angeles.
Great ad for mass deportations. pic.twitter.com/QxHfwQ7oFV
— 3sidedstory 🇺🇲 (@3sidedstory) June 8, 2025
Law enforcement seized the bike of Elpidio Reyna, a fugitive #wanted for the alleged assault of a federal officer in Paramount, California, on June 7, 2025. A #reward of up to $50K is offered for information leading to his arrest & conviction. Details: https://t.co/srIq4MypdY pic.twitter.com/PMoYe2LvTS
— FBI Los Angeles (@FBILosAngeles) June 17, 2025
The FBI is offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the thug who was filmed throwing rocks at law enforcement cars in Los Angeles.
“On June 7, 2025, at approximately 3:30 p.m., the suspect threw rocks at law enforcement vehicles on Alondra Boulevard in… pic.twitter.com/SCUsT4INAz
— Johnny Midnight ⚡️ (@its_The_Dr) June 8, 2025
Newsom, apparently thinking that owning this was his best option, had a spokesman tell City Journal that the governor “proudly attended” the wine-tasting in “honor of his mother, who died of breast cancer.”
The event was intended to raise money for the UCSF Cancer Center — which is indeed a nice thought, but could he not have sent them a check? Moreover, this highlights a consistent throughline in Newsom’s career regarding problems with wine in general and Napa Valley in particular.
In 2007, after it was revealed that he had an affair with the wife of his campaign manager, Newsom — then mayor of San Francisco — said that he was seeking professional help for “problems with alcohol.” It was reported that he’d quit drinking after this; it was widely reported he’d gone to rehab, as well.
As it turns out, this was just a smokescreen for unacceptable behavior, delusions of sobriety on Newsom’s part, or both: During his 2018 run for the California governorship, Newsom insisted there hadn’t been any rehab.
“No, there’s no rehab. I just stopped,” he told the Sacramento Bee. “There was no treatment, no, nothing related to any of that stuff. I stopped because I thought it was a good thing to stop.”
Except he hadn’t stopped; that too appeared to be a cover for the rather damaging revelation that he’d been carrying on a sexual dalliance with the unstable, substance-abusing wife of one of his closest aides and friends. Not that morality especially matters with Democratic voters in California, I suppose — but it’s probably worth noting, given the stakes for America’s future, that he once admitted to an issue with drinking whilst implying that this was the root cause of a highly problematic extramarital relationship, insisted that he no longer had said issue, and had resumed drinking.
Maybe he should have stayed on the wagon and away from all things alcohol-related, full stop. During COVID, California was one of the strictest states in the nation when it came to lockdown policy. However, not only did Newsom not order wineries shut in Napa Valley — a move which profited one of his own wineries at the expense of others in neighboring counties that were ordered shut — but he was seen in what looked like a breach of his own state’s lockdown rules in an infamous dinner at the Michelin-starred French Laundry restaurant.
EXCLUSIVE: We’ve obtained photos of Governor Gavin Newsom at the Napa dinner party he’s in hot water over. The photos call into question just how outdoors the dinner was. A witness who took photos tells us his group was so loud, the sliding doors had to be closed. 10pm on @FOXLA pic.twitter.com/gtOVEwa864
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) November 18, 2020
Newsom would apologize for not setting a good example — because we’re clearly looking for a moral exemplar in a man who styles his hair like he’s trying to remind us how similar he looks to Christian Bale playing yuppie serial killer Patrick Bateman in “American Psycho.”
“While the First Partner and I followed the restaurant’s health protocols and took safety precautions, I should have modeled better behavior and not joined the dinner,” Newsom said after the November 2020 faux pas.
Should Gavin Newsom run for president?
So if the guy is an oleaginous stoat, whatever. It’s not like this is disqualifying in California, although it does make one pine for (I can’t believe I’m even saying this, but) the halcyon days of Jerry “Gov. Moonbeam” Brown. And as long as that idiocy doesn’t cross the border east to Nevada or Arizona, or north to Oregon, that’s fine: Stay there and let your doomed state fail.
When the rioters or looters or mob of homeless tranq zombie shoplifters come to the governor’s mansion, just hide in the wine cellar with a corkscrew, Gavin. Keep out of view until Kamala or some other Democrat takes your place in January 2027 — and, in the interim, stay out of it when the president invariably has to keep peace in your cities. A little over 18 months from now, we can all move on from this genuinely horrible episode where you were somehow considered a major player in our national political conversation.
But therein lies the problem: Not only has Newsom cast himself as the leader of Resistance 2.0 and actively stymied President Donald Trump’s response to the Los Angeles riots — riots he apparently would rather sip merlot through than attend to stopping — he’s clearly positioning himself for a 2028 White House bid.
What’s going to happen if Iran decides to attack U.S. interests in the Middle East under his watch, like Tehran is threatening to do at this very moment? “Sorry, madam secretary — can’t talk now. There’s a chardonnay with my name on it sitting right in front of me. You let the boys in fatigues figure it out.”
After all, this seems to be a pattern for Gavin. Major scandal? It was the wine talking. Pandemic? Don’t shut down my wineries; let me head to a Michelin-starred Napa Valley eatery and maybe it’ll clear my head. Riots? Nope: Wine time!
If the Ghost of Don’t-You-Ever-Learn hasn’t stopped him, maybe the Ghost of Political Hangovers Present can do the trick. If that doesn’t work, I don’t really want to see what the future holds.
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