Even Katie Couric wasn’t about to let California Governor Gavin Newsom coast through a friendly interview, pressing the 2028 presidential hopeful on the state’s poor record on everything from unemployment and schools to its persistently high poverty rate.
Newsom responded with familiar talking points, leaning on half-truths and pointing to the success of Californians themselves, who have gone far despite the state government. But if anything, the exchange only underscored a deeper question: what the state might achieve with better leadership.
🚨KATIE COURIC JUST ROASTED GAVIN NEWSOM
— Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) March 5, 2026
“The HIGHEST poverty rate, unemployment… Mississippi schools outperform California schools, especially for poor kids.”
“People see that & say, ‘No thanks, California! No thanks, Gavin Newsom!”
H/T @JasonJournoDC pic.twitter.com/GayveNXevy
"The highest poverty rate tied with Louisiana, the highest unemployment, and as Nick Kristof of the New York Times recently wrote, 'Mississippi schools outperform California schools, especially for poor kids.' Now people see that or hear that or read that and they're like, no thanks California, no thanks Gavin Newsom, we're good," Couric said.
Newsom's response was a mix of half-truths and selective facts.
First, Newsom attempted to argue that California’s supplemental poverty rate is roughly average, comparable to states like Florida and Louisiana, and has been for decades. In reality, California has one of the highest supplemental poverty rates in the nation, tied with Louisiana at 17.7 percent in 2024, well above the national average of 12.9 percent.
Newsom also pointed to the state’s housing crisis as the root cause of the states supplemental poverty rate. However he argued that California leads the country in progressive reforms to address the crisis.
Recommended
But those policies have often worsened the problem by boosting demand without meaningfully increasing supply. Instead of significantly reforming zoning laws or reducing regulatory barriers to new construction, the state has largely focused on price controls and expanded rent regulation, measures that economists widely argue only deepen the shortage.
Newsom then turned to his defense of California’s public education system, where test scores remain below the national average despite the state spending more per student than most others. The governor argued that scores have been rising since 2011, which is broadly true. However, while K-12 spending has more than doubled since the early 2010s, academic gains have been modest at best, an embarrassing return on investment, given that a majority of students in the state still fall below proficiency in reading and math.
And then Newsom went to his catch all, lauding the great achievements Californians have mounted, despite the state's poor government.
"More broadly though, California has more scientists, engineers, more Nobel laureates, more researchers than any state in America," Newsom explained. "We dominate in every category, the biggest manufacturing state in America."
We have more farmers, we have more ranchers, we dominate in ag, $62.1 billion. Our manufacturing output is over $405.6 billion. There's no one comes close in AI, 32 of the top 50 AI companies, in quantum, robotics, the dominant leadership in future technologies as it relates to autonomy, space, advanced nuclear. We're 18 percent of the world's R&D, only behind China and behind Germany, 18 percent of the world's ID. We had four Nobel laureates last year at the UC system. We have more active patents than any other system. Higher learning anywhere in the world. Venture capital is 106 billion. We're number one in business startups, and we created 3.1 million jobs.
No one needs to fact-check that part. California’s economic dynamism is real. But much of that success has come despite the state government, not because of it. It’s a testament to the drive and innovation of Californians themselves, not the stewardship of the politicians running the state. Imagine what the Golden State could achieve with a Republican governor and a Republican dominated legislature focused on removing obstacles rather than managing the states decline.
Editor's Note: President Trump is leading America into the "Golden Age" as Democrats try desperately to stop it.
Help us continue to report on President Trump's successes. Join Townhall VIP and use promo code FIGHT to receive 60% off your membership.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member