Gov. Newson Travels to Montana & Gets Called Out on California’s Travel Bans
Newsom is experiencing a bad case of Red State envy.
Last year at this time, I noted that California Attorney General Rob Banta took a break from resolving the myriad problems in the state to announce the addition of five states to the list of places banned from state-funded travel because of laws allegedly discriminating against members of the LGBTQ community.
Currently, these states are on California’s “Do Not Travel” list:
Utah
Indiana
Louisiana
Arizona-
Alabama
Arkansas
Florida
Idaho
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucy
Mississippi
Montana
North Carolina
North Dakota
Oklahoma
Ohio
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
West Virginia
Therefore, when California Governor Gavin Newsom decided to vacation in Montana recently, he drew criticism for being a hypocrite.
Gavin Newsom’s office announced July 1 that the governor had left California and temporarily handed power over to Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, but did not say where he had gone.
CalMatters reporter Emily Hoeven revealed Tuesday night that Newsom had gone to Montana, where his in-laws own a ranch, and was expected back at work July 11.
…Some Republicans and conservatives were quick to accuse the governor of hypocrisy over his choice of destination. “Democrats have banned state travel to these states. You’ll note Montana is on the list. Also of note, Gavin Newsom is currently vacationing in … Montana,” state Sen. Melissa Melendez wrote.
“‘Asked if the state is paying for his security, York says the office doesn’t comment on security.’ So, yes then,” Melendez added in another post, quoting Hoeven’s reporting.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom launched a Golden State ground attack in Florida Monday, releasing an ad urging Sunshine State residents fed up with Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis to pack their flip-flops and head West.
“Gonna be hilarious when he vacations to Miami,” commentator Ben Shapiro tweeted, referring to Newsom’s recent ad campaign urging Florida residents to leave the Sunshine State and move west. “The price of gas in Montana is about $2.50 cheaper a gallon than in California. State of emergency [for COVID-19] in California for 2.5 years. Astounding that he would run ads in Florida & vacation in the red state of Montana while California families can’t afford to travel thanks to Dems,” California Republican National Committeewoman Harmeet Dhillon posted.
Newsom does hypocrisy as readily as he breathes. Recent incidents include not wearing masks as required during an NFL playoff game and the infamous French Laundry dining drama.
Staffers were quick to explain why the travel ban did not apply to Newsom.
“AB 1887 prohibits a state agency, department, board, or commission from requiring any state employees, officers, or members to travel” to states on the list, according to the California attorney general’s office.
Asked whether that state travel ban applies in this case and whether any state funds were used to pay for the trip for Newsom or any staffers or security, a spokesperson for the governor told KCRA 3 that the policy was not applicable.
“It’s a personal trip,” Erin Mellon said. “The ban is on state-funded travel which this is not.”
She added that the state’s travel ban applies to “expending state funds” and that Newsom’s travel is not being paid for by the state.
However, if Newsom really wanted to see his in-laws, they could have come to California. And, as the Republicans have noted, surely security and some staff went with him. Unless Newsom paid for their expenses, there was a violation of AB1887.
Coming hard on the heels of Newsom’s now infamous Florida ad, it’s clear Newsom is experiencing a bad case of Red State envy.
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Comments
The Left drives us out of our wits!
It’s too full of d—d hypocrites!
This Governor Newsom’s
Especially gruesome,
He’s driving us all to have fits!
“Do-est as I say-eth, not as I do-eth”
The guy is a corrupt hack, good for nothing but continuing the decline.
That liberals are so willfully blind and clownish cultishness in their voting is getting very old, and very smelly to the rest of us.
Hair Gel is essentially throwing out his list of Constitutional states that should start the divorce procedure. It sure would be electrifying for states who want to continue to operate under the US Constitution to declare federal government to be a runaway rogue institution no longer in charge. If California and the other rogue states refuse not only to honor the Constitution and abide by federalism but also insist on telling the other states what they can and cannot do, then they can start their own country. Meanwhile, the rest of us will reconstitute a new Constitutional Republic in order to protect and defend the United States.
Did you count the states on California’s “enemies list?”
22 states. 44% of America.
We should wait until there are a few more. It won’t take long.
How tone deaf is this guy?
How stupid can one person be?
How bad is the judgement of Calif voters to elect this narcissist twice?
How badly would we like to see this dude go toe to toe with DeSantis? (threw that in for fun)
““Gonna be hilarious when he vacations to Miami,” commentator Ben Shapiro tweeted,”
How else is he going to date AOC?
(It’s OK — she’s not “exclusive.”)
He used personal funds, isn’t that worse? Consider that he not only disregarded the letter of the law but the spirit as well. He literally put his hand in his pocket to pay for the trip, thumbing his nose at the people of CA and this vitality important legislation.
What an outrageous display of privilege that in today’s climate of never-ending apologies is political suicide. I stand in solidarity with the woke brigades of hectoring Karens that will no doubt appear at every public event the remainder of his term, whose message of no more privilege will be amplified by CA media to reach a crescendo of outrage too powerful to ignore.
The ban was on state funded travel. He was holidaying and therefore I assume he was paying, not the state. Of course, if he had a state paid security detail ……
It’s just the usual sign that his actions in legislating the ban were purely political in nature and not based on any actual conviction or concern.
A great reason to not vote for him, and reasonable grounds for calling him out, but he certainly doesn’t appear to have broken the letter of his own law.
“…but he certainly doesn’t appear to have broken the letter of his own law.”
Baloney. I guarantee you that ass used state funds for at least some parts of this trip.
As Adam Carolla pointed out, when you put a state on your state’s “enemies list,” it means you think they’re evil. Then you go vacation in one of those “evil” states… doesn’t matter who paid for it, it’s hypocrisy.
Did anyone here ever listen to this guy speak? He’s got a voice like a someone’s grabbing his testicles:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDKPJHkK520:
Fine assumes a fact not in evidence.
+10
And 10+ here
How did he (Gov. hair gel) get to Montana? Did he use a State of California aircraft?
This is what our liberal AG in California does instead of fighting to lock up criminals. In that respect, he’s just like former AG Kamala Harris.
As for Warden Newsome (his nickname out here because of his restrictive Covid policies), it’s another example of him flaunting his own rules.
But thanks to this article I actually learned who our Lt Governor is.