Staff Reports
Gavin Newsom tried to play the relatable everyman and instead revealed the same phoniness conservatives have been warning about for years, and the internet was not kind. Clips of his appearance on the All The Smoke podcast — where he slipped into street slang and dropped lines about “Wonder Bread and mac ’n’ cheese” — blew up online and sent critics into overdrive.
On the podcast hosted by Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson, Newsom leaned hard into a hustler narrative, telling stories about “payin’ the bills” and “raising myself” while laughing with the hosts about his supposed childhood diet and ball-playing upbringing. Mainstream outlets and the episode’s transcript confirm the remarks and show the clip’s viral spread, which is why so many Americans saw the disconnect immediately.
The real kicker for skeptics is the contrast with Newsom’s well-documented background: he’s no blue-collar success story and his father was a well-connected attorney with ties to the Getty family. That mismatch is exactly the problem — elites pretending to be “one of us” while enjoying the perks of power and privilege.
Conservative commentators pounced, and even public figures called it out as obvious code-switching and political pandering rather than authenticity. From Adam Carolla’s blistering mockery to GOP lawmakers accusing him of performative outreach, the reaction made clear that Americans smell insincerity from a mile away.
This isn’t an isolated incident — it’s the same playbook Democrats use when they try on a new accent or a new backstory to chase votes, a habit conservatives have criticized for years as insulting and cynical. The pattern of political chameleons reshaping their image for different audiences has been noted in other high-profile examples, and Newsom’s clumsy turn only reinforces that point.
Hardworking Americans don’t need governors or would-be presidents acting like reality-TV actors to prove they “relate”; they need leaders who respect their experiences and tell the truth. If conservatives want to win the argument for honest government and common-sense leadership, we should keep calling out these fake performances and remind voters that authenticity and accountability still matter.
