When Gavin Newsom made a recent post on X (formerly Twitter), he got more than he expected. The governor faced a lot of backlash and criticism from various angles.

Gavin Christoper Newsom is the 40th governor of California, the Golden State. The 56-year-old has been in office since his inauguration in 2019. However, being in office has not been a smooth ride for Newsom. California’s governor constantly receives criticism from the public due to the dwindling situation of the state. The latest backlash he got was unexpectedly from an unrelated post on X.

The governor’s post was a short video that was recorded with him standing on top of the Golden Gate Bridge on Sunday, May 5. He was sharing the good news of the state’s impressive tourist numbers. According to the governor, the state witnessed “record-breaking tourism numbers,” with over $150 billion spent on tourism, the highest the state has ever recorded in history.

The governor’s office also released a statement on that same day boasting about the record number and the beauty of the Golden State. Newsom mentioned their world-renowned coastline, its iconic cities and theme parks, and its trees, which are the tallest ones. Therefore, California is glad to welcome tourists from all over the world, which will boost its economy and create good jobs for its residents.

The post on X received much criticism from politicians and regular citizens. Brian Jones, the Senate Minority Leader for California, did not agree with how the state calculated the record-breaking numbers. He said that the tourism income should have been about $173 billion to beat the pre-pandemic record of $144.9 billion. 

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Residents of the state had another cause for worry. The comments brought up the recent high influx of migrants in California, questioning if the tourists were really visitors or simply illegal migrants. An X user wrote, “Hate to break it to you, Gavin, but all those illegal aliens sneaking into California right now aren’t tourists!” 

Another topic of concern for the people was the recent surge in gas prices. One user wrote that many commodities are reaching all-time highs, and the government needs to do something about it. The user also posted a picture of a Menlo Park Chevron gas station showing the regular gas price as $7.09 per gallon. However, the company’s most recent price is $7.29 per gallon.  

POLL—Should the Government Increase Taxes on the Wealthy To Reduce Economic Inequality?

The California Governor was getting backlash from every and any angle in his comment section. Another user wrote that as Gavin Newsom is proud of California’s tourism, people should be sure to stop and visit Los Angeles. The commenter posted a video of homeless encampments and fires burning on the street, further showing how bad the situation is in the state. 

Some other users focused on the state’s rise in prices, saying that it would discourage people who really know how it is in California. The X user wrote, “I would think California tourism would go something like this: 1) Omg, I’ve heard of California is so amazing. Let’s go 2) Oh wow, actually, this place is stupidly expensive and seems to be run by incompetent idiots, and there are so many bums in every major city. What an overrated dump.”

The price surge in California is quite worrisome. A report by Calmatters in March showed that prices have gone up by about 20% from 2020 to 2024. While the report states that inflation is gradually slowing down, the prices in California are still surging. In fact, the prices of many items in the Golden State have increased above the country’s average. 

ALSO READ: California Leader Opposes New Funding Plan for Migrants

Another X user, Mark Fabela, said that he believes the rise in tourism is thanks to people who come to seek drugs. To emphasize his point, the commenter posted an Axios data map that shows California leading the US in the percentage of unsheltered homeless people. Furthermore, the Los Angeles Times also reported that almost half of the drug users in San Francisco are not natives. 

California is the front runner in youth homelessness, according to a report by the Guardian in December 2023. The statistics also show the largest number of unaccompanied minors in the entire country. Therefore, many criticized the large number of homeless people in the state, blaming significant issues such as the high cost of housing and the influx of migrants into shelters.

According to Nora Vargas, chairwoman of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors, over 80,000 migrants have entered the state through San Diego County since May 2023. This can be attributed to the tougher border security rules that Texas has implemented at the U.S. southern border. Therefore, they switched their path toward California as their best option. 

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