Newsom debuts rapid-response website as critics accuse him of prioritizing presidential ambitions

Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-Calif., a potential 2028 presidential candidate, launched a new fact-check website on Wednesday targeting "right-wing misinformation," as a new poll found more than half of California registered voters believe he is more focused on becoming president than delivering for Californians. 

Newsom's campaign apparatus described the new fact-check website as a "rapid-response website to set the record straight about the Golden State" and President Donald Trump. 

A new survey conducted by UC Berkeley's Institute of Governmental Studies and co-sponsored by the Los Angeles Times found that 54% of California registered voters believe Newsom is more focused on his personal presidential ambitions than solving the ongoing problems at home in the Golden State. 

"By a more than a two-to-one margin (54% to 26%), most voters believe that as Newsom serves out his final two years as governor, he is devoting more of his attention to things that might benefit himself as a possible candidate for president than to governing the state and helping to solve its problems," according to the results of the poll completed April 21-28 among 6,201 registered voters in California. 

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Newsom's campaign, in a press release announcing the new fact-checking endeavor, touted California as the fourth-largest economy in the world, and said the blue state's population is growing, crime rates are at historic lows and California is leading the nation in clean energy and tech innovation. 

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"This site is for everyone sick of the BS about California. We’re done letting the MAGA trolls define the Golden State. We’re going on the offense and fighting back — with facts," Newsom said. 

Newsom's latest endeavor targets misinformation from the devastating Los Angeles fires this year and other state issues, including crime, climate, the economy, immigration, energy and housing. California is often ridiculed by Republicans as a representation of the demise of Democratic states. Such was the case last month when a California lawmaker proposed a bill to allow state college and university students to sleep in their cars amid the blue state's housing crisis. 

The California politician has long been rumored to harbor presidential ambitions. He was one of several names floated as a potential Democratic nominee replacement for President Joe Biden before Biden suspended his re-election campaign last summer and ultimately chose former Vice President Kamala Harris as his successor. Newsom also campaigned for Biden and Harris in key battleground states, acting as a surrogate for both candidates when their names were on the top of the ticket. 

Newsom launched a podcast this year embracing political dialogue across party lines, following Democrats losing the White House and the Senate and failing to regain the House of Representatives in 2024. Newsom has invited Trump allies and conservative guests, including Charlie Kirk and Steve Bannon, onto his podcast in an attempt to show he is open to "criticism and debate without demeaning or dehumanizing one another." 

The strategy follows criticism after the 2024 election that Democrats didn't prioritize new media appearances and unscripted conversations enough. 

But Newsom's willingness to soak up the national spotlight as Democrats look for someone to lead the party into the next generation may have backfired among his California constituents. 

Newsom is one of several Democratic governors trying to balance diplomacy with rejecting Trump's agenda during the president's second term. Newsom has spoken out against Trump's tariff policies and executive orders while reaching across the aisle to secure disaster relief following the Los Angeles fires earlier this year. 

The poll found a majority of California voters believe the state would be negatively impacted by Trump's overhaul of the federal government, as 64% believe Trump's tariffs would negatively impact California business and agriculture and over 50% believe Trump's policies would have a negative impact on education. 

Meanwhile, Californians are split on Newsom's job performance, with 46% both approving and disapproving of his job as governor and 45% reporting they are not confident in "his ability to be effective in looking out for California’s interests when dealing with the Trump administration."

"The Governor is focused on one thing: his job — driving L.A.’s recovery, confronting the housing crisis, and taking Donald Trump to court over his disastrous tariffs that are raising costs for families and blowing a hole in California’s budget," Newsom's office told Fox News in response to the new polling.