It’s not easy being Gavin Newsom. Every morning the California governor has to wake up and figure out who progressive voters want him to pretend to be.
Today they want him to be more of an anti-Israel zealot. So he learned his lines and went on Pod Save America, the Israel-obsessed podcast hosted by former Obama advisers. But Newsom, with his impeccable timing, picked a moment when his performative sneering at our allies would be most insulting to America and the men and women in uniform.
“Do you think, looking down the road,” Pod host Jon Favreau asked Newsom, “that the United States should consider maybe, you know, rethinking our military support for Israel?”
To which the governor responded: “It breaks my heart, because the current leadership in Israel is walking us down that path where I don’t think you have a choice about that consideration.”
He also mocked Israel’s participation in the regime-change mission in Iran: “For two years, they haven’t even been able to solve the Hamas question.”
But of course Israel’s participation in the conflict saves American lives. That may not matter to Newsom, who has all the empathy of a mannequin slathered in Brylcreem. But it is shockingly disrespectful for a guy who wants to be president and, therefore, commander-in-chief of the armed forces if those same armed forces amount to little more than a punch line in Newsom’s scripted life.
This morning, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine briefed the press and the public on the conflict in Iran. Hegseth had a slightly different message for the Israeli military than Newsom did: “To our steadfast partner, Israel, your mission is being executed with unmatched skill and iron determination. Fighting shoulder to shoulder with such a capable ally is a true force multiplier and a breath of fresh air.”
He later added: “Usually it’s [the US military fighting a conflict] with some ancillary benefits from allies who are maybe willing but not as capable. When you have both the will and the capability of an ally that that can really bring things to bear—we take certain targets, they take certain targets—and you coordinate it, it has incredible effects.”
Israel is more than carrying its weight, in other words. Israel’s ability to control the skies over Iran make any American flight mission far safer. The U.S. also has to deploy less of its own manpower and resources thanks to having an ally in the arena. Then there’s the value that Israeli intelligence gathering adds to America’s own.
In sum, the U.S. appreciates being able to share some of the burden and sacrifice of fighting to bring freedom to the oppressed.
At least for now. Newsom is signaling that his own prospective presidency would take a different approach, one that is dismissive of alliances and burden-sharing, unconcerned with American credibility, and uninterested in the desperate struggles of brave, freedom-seeking civilians around the world.
Newsom, in fact, would hinder missions like the one he’s mocking right now. He’d withhold military cooperation with Israel, which would downgrade its capabilities. In the middle of a war in which Israelis are fighting alongside Americans, Newsom suggests the Israeli military is undeserving.
Running down our battlefield allies in the middle of a war is bad enough. Worse is that Newsom doesn’t seem to realize—or care—about what Israel’s contribution means for American troops in the field. Again, in the middle of a war. We can’t expect Newsom to suddenly be an expert in the complexities of geopolitics. But shouldn’t we be able to expect him to refrain from such aggressive displays of ignorance? I guess we have our answer.
