“I’m literally taking advantage of the moment I’m in,” Newsom said in an exclusive interview with CNBC. “I had to raise, I think we put over $80 million to defend ourselves in a recall last year. These guys nationalized the recall campaign against me. They went after our values, they went after our people, they went after things we love state, and I’m just pushing back.”
Newsom successfully fended off a recall attempt last year in California. Asked if he was preparing for a presidential bid, Newsom insisted he wasn’t.
“I sleep at night,” Newsom said. “I sleep at night pushing back against bullies like Ron DeSantis.”
Newsom’s re-election campaign ran an ad in July on television stations in Florida bashing DeSantis. Freedom is “under attack in your state,” Newsom said in the ad. “I urge all of you who live in Florida to join the fight or join us in California where we still believe in freedom – freedom of speech, freedom of choice, freedom from hate and freedom to love.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom successfully overturned a recall attempt last year in California. Asked if he was preparing for a presidential bid, Newsom insisted he wasn’t.
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The 25-minute interview with Newsom came after the governor officially signed into law the Community Assistant, Recovery and Empowerment (CARE) Act, which he drafted to address California’s homelessness issue. The bill would provide court-based treatment for homeless people with serious mental disorders.
“It addresses what’s happening on our streets and sidewalks, particularly the most important issue: mental health,” Newsom said. “Every day we see people with bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, people with paranoia, many – most, let’s be honest – self-medicate with drug or alcohol addictions.”
The CARE court provides a rapid response to family members and first responders to petition a judge to order an evaluation of someone with a mental health disorder. If the person qualifies, the judge will draw up a detailed CARE plan that could include housing.
“We’re seeing this play out in California like no other state,” Newsom said. “It’s not unique to California, it’s just worse here. It’s a major issue that we haven’t been able to address.”
The legislation will be implemented statewide, starting in seven counties, including: San Francisco, Orange, Riverside and San Diego. Newsom said he hopes the program will eventually roll out across the country.
Newsom also championed AB 257, the fast food worker bill, which expands protections for fast food workers.
“There are areas of our economy where workers don’t have a voice, where they don’t have a choice, where their health and safety are often at stake,” Newsom said. “This field employs a disproportionate number of women and minorities. And it’s not just all teenagers working a few hours a week to get by, you’ve got moms, people who’ve been working 20 years in the fast-food industry. And we wanted to create some sectoral negotiations to give people a little bit of a push, to give them a little bit of a chance.”
The current minimum wage in California is $15 an hour for businesses with more than 25 employees. The law would allow the new 10-person board to raise the minimum wage to $22, which has drawn some criticism from people who fear it will increase the cost of dining out.
“I got an In-N-Out burger right down the block that’s offering $22 today and I can’t even find workers,” Newsom said. “The minimum wage, they passed that in this economy a while ago. They’re just having a hard time finding workers, understandably. Workers are saying, what do you have for me?”
As part of the wide-ranging interview, Newsom also said:
