The Strangest Rumors About Gavin Newsom

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California Governor Gavin Newsom has weathered plenty of controversial moments throughout his political career, but the politician has also been the subject of some wild rumors too. In 2025, word on the street was that the governor had secretly commissioned a bronze statue made in his likeness while Newsom was serving as San Francisco's mayor. The rumors made the rounds after authors Jedd McFatter and Susan Crabtree claimed in their book, "Fool's Gold: The Radicals, Con Artists, and Traitors Who Killed the California Dream and Now Threaten Us All," that Newsom had used donated payments to fund the statue. The authors also claimed that out of the three companies that funded the bronze sculpture, two are owned by the politician himself. 

This was vehemently denied by Brandon Richards, Newsom's Deputy Director for Rapid Response. As he told the Daily Mail, "To imply the governor personally funded or proposed this effort is categorically false." Richards didn't deny that Newsom's businesses had contributed a small amount, but he clarified that the governor hadn't disguised this from the public. "As is customary in the city, the effort was independently proposed by a nonprofit and funded by private donors — not taxpayers... This was reported at the time and isn't news now," Newsom's spokesperson explained to Fox News. 

When the idea of the statue was first floated in 2015, by some of Newsom's most avid supporters, the then-lieutenant governor admitted to SFGATE that he found the whole thing bizarre. "I don't want to call it embarrassing, but it's a strange thing. I'm just awkward about it," he said at the time. The divisive politician added that funds for the statue were being raised by the eager supporters. Naturally, the authors of "Fool's Gold" disagree, noting that they have ample evidence to back up their claims. 

Countless citizens, including various celebrities, lost their homes in the devastating 2025 Los Angeles fires, an event that President Donald Trump heavily capitalized on in an attempt to prove the Democrats' incompetence. The divisive politician demanded that Gavin Newsom take immediate action to quell the flames. "Governor Gavin Newscum should immediately go to Northern California and open up the water main, and let the water flow into his dry, starving, burning State, instead of having it go out into the Pacific Ocean," Trump wrote on Truth Social, using one of his infamous demeaning nicknames in the process. Only, the water main in question doesn't actually exist. 

Sadly, given the dire circumstances, many took Trump at his word, and the governor was subjected to intense scrutiny. Newsom subtly hinted that Trump's insults were stale during an interview with NBC News. "Responding to Donald Trump's insults, we would spend another month," he quipped. "I'm very familiar with them. Every elected official that he disagrees with is very familiar with them." In addition to blaming the governor for not making use of a non-existent central water valve, Trump also claimed that the fires were actually Newsom's fault because he "refused to sign the water restoration declaration [...] to protect an essentially worthless fish called a smelt." 

First of all, Trump used the wrong name for the document in question, and secondly, it was hardly as straightforward as he made out. In short, these two have never agreed on how much water should be reserved to keep the ecosystem healthy versus how much should be allocated for human use. Newsom decried Trump's accusations as "incomprehensible to anyone that understands water policy in the state."

There have been longstanding rumors that Gavin Newsom is planning to make a bid for the White House in 2028. Back in 2023, Former White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany posited that he was secretly challenging then-President Joe Biden for the highest office in the land. "He is running a shadow presidential campaign," McEnany wildly proclaimed (via The Wrap). Left-leaning journalist Matt Bai even published an opinion piece in The Washington Post, writing that Newsom appeared to be running for the Democratic ticket, albeit in quite a clandestine manner. 

Bai cited the politician's visit to Chinese President Xi Jinping and his travels to Israel amid the war as proof, among other things, much like McEnany did. Even Senator John Fetterman accused Newsom of secretly running for the presidential ticket, arguing that the California governor simply didn't have "the guts to announce it," (via NBC News). The governor repeatedly refuted the claims, confirming to NBC News' "Meet the Press" in 2023 that he had no plans to throw his hat in the ring. 

"President Biden is going to run, and [I'm] looking forward to getting him reelected," Newsom said at the time, adding that, if Biden ended up changing his mind, he would throw his support behind Vice President Kamala Harris. "I think the vice president is naturally the one lined up," the politician reasoned. In fact, Newsom continued to support Biden even after his disastrous debate with Donald Trump. When he stepped down, Newsom kept his word and endorsed Harris. Whether the rumors about his potential run in 2028 will turn out to be true remains to be seen, however. 

In what is arguably one of the most bizarre rumors about Gavin Newsom that has made the rounds thus far, avid conspiracy theorists confidently professed that the Democratic Californian governor had covertly received the death penalty. One attendee at a 2022 support rally for Donald Trump told RSBM, a far-right broadcasting network, "Newsom's a clone. They just took him out. The real Governor Newsom has had his military tribunal at GITMO and he has been executed," (via X, formerly known as Twitter). 

The rumors about Newsom's supposed execution were first spread by Real Raw News, known for its vastly inaccurate reporting, which lacks any factual evidence. The website claimed that the Democrat was set to be executed for treason and sex crimes against children. As for the part where some believed that Newsom had been replaced by a non-human clone after his death, well, those claims have also been thoroughly debunked by Politifact. The fact that the governor has been seen out and about should be enough proof that he's alive and well, but it appears some folks need more convincing. 

The COVID-19 pandemic spawned bucketloads of conspiracy theories. Gavin Newsom found himself at the center of one when he mysteriously disappeared from public view following a booster shot in 2021. The governor's schedule was cleared and his office went quiet. The only word from his spokesperson was that Newsom was taking some time off for "family obligations," per Newsweek. Afterwards, radio silence ensued. Netizens filled in the blanks themselves, and rumors that the politician had experienced an adverse reaction to the vaccine quickly went viral, with hashtags like #whereisgavinnewsom trending on X. Some even speculated that the governor had died and officials were desperately trying to hide it from the public (we're starting to see a theme here).

RFK Jr.'s anti-vaccine website, The Defender, sent the rumor mill into overdrive when it published an article citing anonymous sources claiming that Newsom had developed Guillain–Barré syndrome (GBS) after getting his booster shot and that this was the real reason the governor didn't attend the 2021 global climate conference and was out of office for the time being. Adding to the noise, entrepreneur Steve Kirsch took to his Substack to speculate that Newsom was suffering from Bell's Palsy after the booster shot. 

Newsom ultimately wasn't seen for 12 days in total, and when he finally made an appearance, the politician understandably seemed pretty perplexed by all the speculation. "I was sort of bewildered," he said during a press conference (via AP News). "I drove into the office every single day, into the Capitol, walked the halls of the Capitol with my kids, spending time with my team." Newsom also revealed that he'd canceled his trip to the global climate conference because his kids wanted him to spend Halloween with them.