When you’re running one of the largest economies in the world into the ground, you probably don’t have time to fact-check your vacation photos.
On Tuesday, the official Governor Newsom Press Office account tried to clap back at a critic on social media platform X. Instead, it ended up showcasing Nevada.
Newsom had posted a video of his interview with podcaster Shawn Ryan, in which he defended and in some cases downplayed his record of gun control.
FACT: States with the most comprehensive gun safety laws have lower gun death rates.
Basic gun safety saves lives. pic.twitter.com/L7QErpIPe1
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) July 15, 2025
Warning: The following social media post contains language that might offend some readers.
A user named “One Bad Dude” replied, “FACT: Democrat run states are sh**holes.”
FACT: Democrat run states are shtholes
— One Bad Dude (@OneBadDude_) July 15, 2025
Rather than respond to that policy criticism with, say, facts or statistics, the Newsom Press Office fired back with four scenic photos and a caption that simply read: “sh**hole.”
“shithole” https://t.co/dFLwXhWbKB pic.twitter.com/eztChybtrU
— Governor Newsom Press Office (@GovPressOffice) July 15, 2025
Is Newsom the worst governor in the U.S. presently?
Because when you’ve got nothing else, just say “nuh uh!” and post a couple of pretty landscapes.
There’s just one problem: one of the images — specifically the lower left one — wasn’t even from California.
It was from Sand Harbor. That’s not a California location. It’s the main beach of Lake Tahoe Nevada State Park.
Yes, Nevada. As in, not California.
To be fair, Lake Tahoe does straddle the state line. But Sand Harbor is clearly and entirely within Nevada’s borders.
So if you’re keeping score at home: Newsom’s team tried to prove California isn’t a “sh**hole” by promoting a different state.
This is the same governor who’s been in office for nearly six years. (I observed open-air drug use myself in a large homeless encampment in Los Angeles just months ago in broad daylight on a Tuesday.)
In any event, who posts state tourism photos and forgets to check which state they’re actually from?
For anyone actually interested in visiting Nevada’s Sand Harbor, one travel blog sings its praises. It features paddleboard, kayak, and jet ski rentals. There are scenic picnic spots shaded by Jeffrey pine and cedar trees. You can even catch Shakespeare under the stars.
Sounds lovely. And again, it’s not in California.
In the end, no one of sound mind would dispute California’s breathtaking natural beauty. It’s the governance that people take issue with.
And apparently, even Newsom’s social media team can’t defend that without borrowing from a neighboring state.
Maybe next time, Newsom’s office could skip the dunk attempt and stick to solving California’s innumerable problems — or at least consult a map.
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