Gavin Newsom defends San Francisco against conservative 'doom loop'
California Gov. Gavin Newsom responded to conservative criticism of San Francisco over its homeless crisis, on 'Late Night with Seth Meyers,' Wednesday.
California's Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom admitted he's "defensive" of San Francisco amid ongoing criticism over the homeless crisis that has plagued the city.
During an interview on "Late Night with Seth Meyers" on Wednesday, Meyers asked Newsom how he responds to these "very real problems."
"It does feel like Republicans, conservatives, they try to make that the avatar for what's wrong with Democratic policies," Meyers began. "Those are very real problems San Francisco has. How do you even start to address them?"
Newsom said the first step was to "own and address" the issues before he shifted blame back onto his Republican critics.
Californias Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom was pressed about the homeless crisis in San Francisco by late-night host Seth Meyers. (Late Night with Seth Meyers/Screenshot)
"Look, they've been on a doom loop about San Francisco ever since Nancy Pelosi became Speaker," he told Meyers.
The governor went on to tout California's economy as a sign of how the state's "values" are a "stark contrast" with the Republican Party platform.
He argued California had "outperformed the American economy" and said that 27% of all U.S. jobs came from his state in the past month. Referencing his recent Fox News debate with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Newsom lashed out at conservative critics who bring up the city's well-documented struggles with crime, drugs and homelessness.
"They have to focus on our failures in order for them to be right," Newsom complained. "So we're used to it out there, and we still maintain our resiliency."
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Homeless tents are seen near the City Hall of San Francisco on Aug. 29, 2022. (Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
The governor spoke warmly of San Francisco, calling it a "special and unique place" that he's very "proud of."
"Yeah, I'm defensive about it," he remarked, referring to the pride he holds for the California city that he formerly led as mayor. "So don't believe all that negativity."
Meyers went on to blame a lack of housing for the city's homeless problems and pinned this on California's Democratic voters.
"Money only does so much. It does seem like, and I think you agree with this, that the issue is there aren't enough homes," Meyers started.
"You can't blame it on conservatives, this is often your own liberal support base," that don't want housing for the homeless in their neighborhoods, Meyers said as Newsom nodded in agreement.
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Newsom said he had threatened San Francisco and other cities in the state with lawsuits if they did not move homeless into housing.
In November, he announced the state would make nearly $300 million available to local municipalities to clear out homeless encampments and move the homeless into housing.
Meyers also called out the Democratic governor for the billions of dollars spent on a high-speed rail project approved 15 years ago that is years behind schedule and overbudget.
Fox News' Louis Casiano and Brandon Gillespie contributed to this report.