One of the early front-runners in the 2028 Democratic presidential race is California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is seen as a likely candidate despite his sagging approval rating and the Golden State’s dismal record under his leftist leadership.

But he appears to be changing his tune on some strategic issues, including the homeless population that continues to grow statewide.

In a statement this week, Newsom adopted a stance that would be right at home in a typical Republican politician’s policy platform.

As the Daily Wire reported:

“There’s nothing compassionate about letting people die on the streets. Local leaders asked for resources — we delivered the largest state investment in history. They asked for legal clarity — the courts delivered,” Newsom said in a statement, per the New York Post.

ADVERTISEMENT

Enabled by last year’s Supreme Court ruling that upheld an Oregon law banning camping on public property, the guidance represents a notable shift in Newsom’s approach to managing homelessness.

“Now, we’re giving them a model they can put to work immediately, with urgency and with humanity, to resolve encampments and connect people to shelter, housing, and care. The time for inaction is over. There are no more excuses.”

But after ignoring or exacerbating the problem for years, Newsom didn’t escape the backlash of social media critics pointing out the perceived hypocrisy of his current directive:

I guess I’m trying to figure out how today’s proclamation of solving homelessness on the local level with billions of taxpayer dollars is different from Gavin Newsom‘s proclamation last year of solving homelessness on the local level with billions of taxpayer dollars pic.twitter.com/vNbAYKbrKn

— Kevin Dalton (@TheKevinDalton) May 12, 2025

Gavin Newsom prepares for his 2028 Presidential run and needs to clean up his failed homeless problem. Just the optics at least.

— Relaxing News (@RelaxingNews) May 12, 2025

I can’t stop laughing! @GavinNewsom – the man credited with fueling the homelessness crisis in California with his failed leadership – is pretending it’s someone else’s fault (ahead of @GavinNewsom28 presidential campaign) by ordering cities to clean up encampments.

Wow. https://t.co/bVcbIh4oVA pic.twitter.com/ek9GIDMs8b

— Houman David Hemmati, MD, PhD (@houmanhemmati) May 12, 2025

The Daily Caller also reported on Newsom’s recent about-face:

Although the ordinance is not mandatory, Newsom is encouraging cities to follow the pattern by offering a portion of $3.3 billion of state funds set to be used on housing and mental health treatment facilities, reported the San Francisco Chronicle.

A measure enacted in 2024 requires counties to use two-thirds of the taxes collected from millionaires in a voter-approved tax enacted in 2004 for programs for homeless people dealing with mental illness or substance abuse, reported The Associated Press.

The latest ordinance is a response to the 2024 decision made by the U.S. Supreme Court in Grants Pass v. Johnson, The San Francisco Chronicle reported. The justices’ ruling gave local authorities the authority to remove homeless encampments.

A 2024 poll of Californian voters found that over a third of the electorate support local law enforcement arresting the homeless who refuse shelter, according to POLITICO and UC Berkeley’s Citrin Center

An April poll found that over half of registered Californian voters believe that Newsom is primarily “doing things that might benefit him as a possible candidate for president,” concluded the Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies.

ADVERTISEMENT

And here’s some additional coverage:

This is a Guest Post from our friends over at WLTReport.

View the original article here.