Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for Elton John AIDS Foundation
Demi Lovato‘s new song “Substance” is set to be released on Friday, but until then they’re giving fans a teaser of the upcoming music video.
Taking to Instagram Wednesday, they shared a snippet that showed various clips from the forthcoming visuals and wrote, “F*** the theatrics, what happened to classic? Did you Pre-Save?”
The video flashes between scenes of Demi in a board room tossing papers and taking a baseball bat to photos on the wall before falling backwards from the building’s ledge. They then appears walking down the street as paparazzi flashes fill the background.
“Substance” comes one month after the singer-songwriter released “Skin of My Teeth.” Both tracks are expected to appear on Demi’s forthcoming eighth studio album, HOLY F***, which is due out August 19.
In other Demi news, it’s a good thing they’ve already filmed the video, because the singer has accidentally given themselves a nasty-looking facial wound.
Using the viral “They’re gonna know” sound for a TikTok showing off the wound above their left eyebrow, they wrote in the caption, “Guess who hit their head on a crystal and has to get stitches before Kimmel tomorrow???” They punctuated the TikTok by mouthing the word “F***!”
(NEW YORK) — Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, the prevailing theory was that if someone was infected with the virus, they were immune — at least for a while.
But a growing number of Americans seem to be contracting the virus more than once.
A recent ABC News analysis of state data found that, as of June 8, there have been more than 1.6 million reinfections across 24 states, but experts say the number is likely much higher.
“These are not the real numbers because many people are not reporting cases,” Dr. Ali Mokdad, an epidemiologist with the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation in Seattle, told ABC News.
The latest variant, BA.5, has become the dominant strain in the U.S., making up more than 65% of all COVID-19 cases as of Wednesday, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
What’s more, studies have suggested that vaccines and previous infection do not offer as much protection against BA.5 compared to past variants.
However, there is little evidence to suggest that BA.5 causes more serious disease or is more deadly than previous variants.
Experts say the risk of reinfection has also increased due to the sheer number of Americans who’ve had a first infection and the dropping of mitigation measures, like mask-wearing, across the country.
Risk of reinfection was different pre-omicron
Before the omicron variant arrived in the U.S., experts said reinfection was far less likely.
“I would say that before the omicron variant, it was pretty rare for me to see reinfection,” Dr. Shira Doron, an infectious disease physician and hospital epidemiologist at Tufts Medical Center in Boston, told ABC News. “Sometimes we would see someone who appeared to have reinfection and we’d repeat the test and it turned out that the new test was a false positive.
“And PCR tests can stay positive for months so sometimes clinicians would say a patient had reinfection, but it was a persistent positive from their infection a few months earlier,” Doron said.
In fact, an April 2021 study from England published in The Lancet found that people with a previous history of COVID-19 infection were 84% less likely to be reinfected.
But that changed post-omicron. A March 2022 study from South Africa found an increased risk of reinfection with the emergence of omicron, BA.1, due to the variant’s “marked ability to evade immunity from prior infection.”
This has also rung true for the original omicron variant’s several offshoots, including BA.5.
“There are two things going for BA.5,” Mokdad said. “One is, it evades protection from vaccines and previous infection due to its mutation and it’s a super-spreader.”
“When you look at BA.5 specifically, your antibodies from BA.1 and BA.2 are not great at neutralizing BA.5,” Doron added.
However, she did point to a preprint study from researchers in Qatar, which has not yet been peer-reviewed, suggesting effectiveness from infection with pre-omicron strains was only about 15.1-28.3% effective against reinfection with omicron.
“I still believe from what I’ve seen that if you were infected with omicron — sure, you can get reinfected — but it’s much less likely you will” than if you were previously infected with delta, Doron said.
More people infected means higher chance of reinfection
Experts told ABC News the risk of reinfection hasn’t just risen because of the emergence of the BA.5 variant. It’s also because the total number of overall infections has increased.
In April, a CDC analysis estimated 58% of all Americans had antibodies indicating a prior COVID infection, meaning people never sickened by the virus are in the minority.
Doron said that by the nature of more people infected, especially two-and-a-half years into the pandemic, it means there will be more reinfections as well.
“In the pre-omicron era, the proportion of people who were infected is smaller than the proportion today, which is the majority of people,” Doron said. “As you increase the proportion of people who have been infected, you’re going to — by definition — increase the proportion of reinfections.”
People have changed their behaviors
Mokdad said another reason that the risk of reinfection is higher is because people’s behaviors have changed.
He said after the initial omicron wave in winter 2021-22, most Americans stopped wearing masks indoors and all states lifted their remaining mitigation measures.
The IHME, where Mokdad works, has tracked mask use over time and as of May 30, 2022 — the latest date for which data is available — found that just 18% of Americans say they always wear a mask in public. At the same time one year ago, that figure was 44%.
“Mask-wearing is the lowest since we started tracking it,” he said. “Even on planes, people don’t wear them. And now you have an invasive and an immune-escape variant and people not wearing a mask indoors.”
He said previous waves from different COVID strains — including alpha, delta and the original omicron variant — were likely mitigated due to a higher percentage of the public wearing masks in indoor spaces.
Filming is underway for the Netflix YA comedy You Are SO Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah!, Fiona Rosenbloom’s beloved coming-of-age novel, the streaming service announced on Tuesday. Adam Sandler will produce and star in the movie, along with his real-life family — daughters Sunny and Sadie and his wife Jackie, as well as his Uncut Gems co-star Idina Menzel, Saturday Night Live newcomer Sarah Sherman and Punch Drunk Love actor Luiz Guzmán. Their specific roles have not been revealed. The plotline, per Netflix, reads, “A girl’s bat mitzvah plans comedically unravel and threaten to ruin one of the most important events of her young life”…
My Therapist Says co-founders, Lola Tash and Nicole Argiris are taking the viral Instagram account to TV with the help of Kenan Thompson and John Ryan Jr.’s Artists for Artists banner, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The account, which launched in 2015 and currently has 7.5 million followers, features amusing memes focused on mental health and inspired the 2020 book, My Therapist Says: Advice You Should Probably (Not) Follow. “Lola and Nicole have a unique and hilarious perspective that has resonated with people all over the world. I’m so excited to welcome our funny sisters to the AFA fam!” said Thompson in a statement obtained by THR…
Paramount+ has given the green light to a revival of the police drama Criminal Minds, which originally aired on CBS from 2005-2020, according to TVLine. Original cast members Joe Mantegna, Kirsten Vangsness, Adam Rodriguez, A.J. Cook, Aisha Tyler and Paget Brewster are all on board, though Matthew Gray Gubler and Daniel Henney will not return. Mantegna teased the revival on Twitter Tuesday, with a picture of himself on a partially built set. “Just doing a little inspection today for an upcoming project. #criminalminds,” he wrote…
Jeff Goldblum will play the vengeful god Zeus, in Netflix’s dark comedy series Kaos, according to Deadline. The Jurassic World Dominion star replaces Hugh Grant, who originally had been tapped for the role, but had to back out over a schedule conflict. Kaos is a “contemporary take on Greek mythology, exploring love, power and life in the underworld. Goldblum will play Zeus…
Zazie Beetz, Paapa Essiedu, Josh Hartnett, Aaron Paul, Kate Mara, Danny Ramirez, Clara Rugaard, Auden Thornton and Anjana Vasan round out the cast o Netflix’s dystopian series Black Mirror for its upcoming sixth season, according to Variety. This casting specifically spans three episodes, and sources tell the outlet that more actors will join up for further episodes of the show. A premiere date for season six has not been announced yet, but the show is believed to be in production…
Alfonso Ribeiro is headed back to the Dancing with the Stars ballroom — this time as Tyra Banks‘ co-host.
Good Morning America on Thursday exclusively revealed that the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air alum, whose character Carlton Banks is known for his iconic dance moves, will join the America’s Next Top Model legend when DWTS makes its debut on Disney+ for season 31 this fall.
Ribeiro won the coveted Mirrorball on DWTS‘ season 19 alongside professional dancer Witney Carson.
“Dancing with the Stars has been such an important part of my life for so many years, and I am ecstatic to officially re-join this tight-knit family as co-host,” he said in a press release, adding that he hopes his “longstanding friendship” with the supermodel will resonate with viewers.
“I’ve known Alfonso since I was 19 years old and he always puts a smile on my face whenever I see him. Having such a fun-loving, longtime friend as co-host warms my heart,” said Banks, who also returns this fall in her executive producer role. “Bantering back and forth with him live is going to be so much fun!”
Banks and the America’s Funniest Home Videos host crossed paths in 1993 when she had an arc on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air as Jackie Ames, a childhood friend and former girlfriend of Will Smith‘s character.
Len Goodman, Carrie Ann Inaba, Bruno Tonioli and Derek Hough will be returning to the DWTS judges’ table for season 31 on the show’s new streaming home.
GMA will exclusively reveal the cast for DWTS season 31 on Sept. 8.
Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — Americans will likely have one more COVID-19 vaccine to choose from after the Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency use authorization for Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine Wednesday.
The two-shot vaccine was authorized for use in people 18 years and older.
Novavax is the fourth COVID-19 vaccine to receive emergency use authorization in the U.S. by the FDA. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is now expected to review data on the vaccine before providing its recommendation for authorization.
“Authorizing an additional COVID-19 vaccine expands the available vaccine options for the prevention of COVID-19, including the most severe outcomes that can occur such as hospitalization and death,” FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert M. Califf said in a statement on Wednesday. “Today’s authorization offers adults in the United States who have not yet received a COVID-19 vaccine another option that meets the FDA’s rigorous standards for safety, effectiveness and manufacturing quality needed to support emergency use authorization.”
The FDA said it had determined that the Novavax vaccine met the criteria for authorization, and that the data showed that the potential benefits of the vaccine outweighed any potential risks.
“The American public can trust that this vaccine, like all vaccines that are used in the United States, has undergone the FDA’s rigorous and comprehensive scientific and regulatory review,” said Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.
Some health experts have suggested that some hesitant Americans may be more inclined to get the Novavax vaccine, as it is based on a more traditional protein-based technology, one already used for the flu vaccine and other shots, while Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine platforms use more modern genetic technology.
The company applauded the agency’s decision to authorize the vaccine for emergency use.
“Today’s FDA emergency use authorization of our COVID-19 vaccine provides the U.S. with access to the first protein-based COVID-19 vaccine,” Stanley C. Erck, president and chief executive officer of Novavax, said in a statement. “This authorization reflects the strength of our COVID-19 vaccine’s efficacy and safety data, and it underscores the critical need to offer another vaccine option for the U.S. population while the pandemic continues.”
On Monday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced that the Biden administration had secured 3.2 million doses of Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine. The vaccine will be made available for free to U.S. states and jurisdictions.
If the CDC signs off on use of the vaccine, the shots could be made available shortly thereafter.
To date, approximately two-thirds of the U.S. population has been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to federal data. However, more than 26.5 million American adults remain completely unvaccinated.
(NEW YORK) — For the first time since May, COVID-19-related hospital admissions are forecasted to increase again in the U.S., as highly infectious omicron subvariants continue to spread, according to updated forecasting models used by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The models show that nearly 40 states and territories are currently projected to see increases in new hospitalizations over the next two weeks. States in the South, including Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas, are expected to see the greatest increases in hospitalizations.
Nationally, between 3,200 to 13,800 daily confirmed COVID-19 hospital admissions are expected to be reported on Aug. 5. As of Wednesday, the U.S. is reporting nearly 5,800 virus-related hospital admissions each day, according to the CDC.
Hospitalization levels have already been increasing, with nearly 40,000 virus-positive Americans currently hospitalized, according to federal data. Totals are more than double the level they were at this time last summer, when the delta surge was beginning to emerge, and a growing number of COVID-19 positive people are also showing up to emergency departments, data shows.
In the South, where many states are forecasted to see notable increases, hospital admissions have risen by more than 20% in the last week.
Although the overall total remains significantly lower than at the nation’s peak, when more than 160,000 patients were hospitalized with the virus, hospitalizations are still at their highest point since early March.
The forecast also predicts that virus-related deaths will have either a stable or an uncertain trend in the next four weeks.
Even so, more than 5,700 deaths are still expected to occur nationally over the next two weeks. Texas, Oklahoma and California are projected to see the largest death tolls in the weeks to come.
“Deaths are still around 300, but hospitalizations are ticking up. This is something you don’t want to panic about, but we really need to pay attention to it because there are things that we can do to blunt that,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, a senior adviser to the president on the pandemic, told CNN on Wednesday.
Fauci and other federal health officials have been raising the alarm about omicron subvariant BA.5, which they say has been causing a resurgence of infections.
The U.S. is currently reporting more than 118,000 new cases a day, marking the country’s highest daily infection average since mid-February.
Fauci said the current reported case total is likely a “gross underestimate” as the majority of Americans are testing with home kits and not reporting their results to their local jurisdictions.
BA.5 is now the dominant variant in the U.S, accounting for an estimated 65% of new cases in the country. Scientists say it does appear to have a transmission advantage over the original omicron strain, although they do not believe it is more severe than prior strains.
“[BA.5] is certainly the most immune evasive. What we’re seeing is people who were previously infected getting reinfected at high rates, people who were vaccinated last year having a ton of breakthrough infections. It’s something we’re paying a lot of attention to,” White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha told ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos on Good Morning America Wednesday.
However, Jha said the vaccines and boosters are still helping blunt the impact of severe disease.
Khloé Kardashian is expecting a second child via a surrogate, her representative confirmed Wednesday.
“We can confirm True will have a sibling who was conceived in November,” the representative said. “Khloé is incredibly grateful to the extraordinary surrogate for such a beautiful blessing.”
The timing means her second child was conceived before her now-ex, NBA star Tristan Thompson, revealed in December 2021 that he had fathered a child with another woman.
Their daughter, True Thompson, was born in 2018.
The reality TV star, 38, has been open about her fertility journey with her on-again, off-again boyfriend.
“[My doctor] said that I would be, like, a high-risk carrier for a pregnancy,” she said in a clip from Keeping Up with the Kardashians in March 2021. “I’m not gonna get into specifics on camera, but they said it’s an 80-something percent chance I’ll miscarry.”
Kardashian said her doctor warned her that she most likely wouldn’t be able to carry a fertilized embryo.
Her sister, Kim Kardashian, has been vocal about using a surrogate as well. Her third and fourth children were born via a surrogate, after she suffered from placenta accreta during her previous two deliveries.
(NEW YORK) — The richest person in the world said he wanted to own one of the most popular social media platforms — until he said he didn’t.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk on Friday moved to terminate his $44 billion deal to buy Twitter. In response, Twitter sued Musk on Tuesday to force him to complete the deal.
The standoff marks the latest chapter in a monthslong saga that began in January when Musk started investing in Twitter.
Musk reached an acquisition deal with Twitter in April, but over the weeks since, he has raised concerns over spam accounts on the platform, claiming Twitter has not provided him with an accurate estimate of their number. Twitter has rebuked that claim, saying it has provided Musk with information in accordance with conditions set out in the acquisition deal.
In May, when Musk said the deal was on “temporary hold” over bot concerns, Dan Ives, a managing director of equity research at Wedbush, an investment firm, told ABC News the grievance could serve as a pretext for Musk to renegotiate or abandon the deal amid a market downturn that had proven especially pronounced for tech stocks.
Over the course of the saga, Musk has been cast as a suitor, critic and now legal adversary of Twitter, where he boasts more than 100 million followers. Below is a timeline of Musk’s bid to acquire the social media platform.
Late January – Musk begins investing in Twitter, according to information filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission in April.
March 14 – Musk’s stake in Twitter reaches 9.2%, making him the largest shareholder in the company, according to a securities filing.
April 4 – In a securities filing, Musk discloses his stake in Twitter. Based on the price of Twitter shares at close of the previous trading day, his stake was worth $2.89 billion. Twitter shares rise more than 27% on the announcement.
April 5 – Twitter announces Musk will join the company’s board of directors.
“He’s both a passionate believer and intense critic of the service which is exactly what we need on @Twitter, and in the boardroom, to make us stronger in the long-term,” Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal said on the platform. “Welcome Elon!”
April 10 – Musk says he will not join the Twitter board after all.
“There will be distractions ahead but our goals and priorities remain unchanged,” Agrawal said in a statement announcing Musk’s choice. “The decisions we make and how we make them remain in our hands, no one else’s.”
April 14 – Musk offers to buy Twitter at $54.20 per share, valuing the company at about $43 billion, according to a securities filing. The offer amounts to a 38% premium above where the price stood a day before Musk’s investment in Twitter became public.
“I invested in Twitter as I believe in its potential to be the platform for free speech around the globe, and I believe free speech is a societal imperative for a functioning democracy,” Musk said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. “Twitter needs to be transformed as a private company.”
April 15 – Twitter adopts a poison pill provision to prevent the Musk acquisition. A poison pill allows current stockholders to purchase additional shares at a discounted price, diluting the shares owned by Musk and making it more expensive for him to buy the company. In an announcement, Twitter said the poison pill will be triggered if any individual or entity acquires at least 15% of the company’s shares.
April 21 – Musk says in a securities filing that he has garnered commitments of about $46.5 billion in financing for a possible Twitter acquisition.
April 25 – Twitter accepts Musk’s offer to acquire the company and values the deal at $44 billion, according to an announcement from the company.
MORE: Twitter says it will sue Elon Musk to complete the $44B merger he just rejected and is “confident” it will prevail
April 29 – Over a three-day period after Musk and Twitter reach a deal, and he sells about $8.5 billion worth in Tesla stock to help finance the bid.
May 4 – Musk secures more than $7 billion in financing for the deal, including commitments from Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, venture capital firm Sequoia Capital and cryptocurrency exchange Binance, according to a securities filing.
May 6 – In a pitch deck for investors, Musk says he will quintuple Twitter’s revenue by 2028, increasing annual earnings to $26.4 billion, the New York Times reports.
May 10 – Musk says he would reverse Twitter’s ban of the account that belongs to former President Donald Trump. The remarks from Musk were made virtually at an auto conference.
May 12 – Twitter announces a temporary hiring freeze, pending Musk’s acquisition; and two top executives leave the company.
May 13 – Musk tweets that the Twitter deal is “temporarily on hold,” citing concern over what he says is the prevalence of bot and spam accounts on the platform.
Along with his tweet, Musk posts a Reuters report about a public filing from Twitter earlier in May that said fake accounts made up less than 5% of users on the platform. Apparently skeptical of the finding, Musk says he wants “details supporting calculation that spam/fake accounts do indeed represent less than 5% of users.”
Roughly two hours later, Musk says he’s “still committed” to the deal.
At the time, market analysts told ABC News the worry over fake accounts could serve as a pretext for Musk to bargain a lower price for the acquisition or abandon the effort altogether.
May 26 – Twitter shareholders bring a class-action lawsuit against Musk over alleged stock manipulation tied to the tumultuous acquisition process. At the time, Twitter’s stock had fallen more than 12% since Musk announced his bid.
June 6 – Musk threatens to pull out of the deal if Twitter doesn’t provide additional information about the prevalence of bots on its platform. In a statement, Twitter said it had been sharing information with Musk “in accordance with the terms of the merger agreement.”
July 8 – Musk moves to terminate his acquisition of Twitter, pointing to the issue of fake accounts.
“Mr. Musk has sought the data and information necessary to ‘make an independent assessment of the prevalence of fake or spam accounts on Twitter’s platform'” and did not receive it, a securities filing said.
In an email on disclosed in a securities filing on Sunday, an attorney representing Twitter rejected Musk’s effort to abandon the acquisition. “The purported termination is invalid,” the attorney wrote, arguing that Musk had “knowingly, intentionally, willfully, and materially breached the Agreement.”
“As it has done, Twitter will continue to provide information reasonably requested by Mr. Musk under the Agreement,” the attorneys added.
July 12 – Twitter sues Musk in Chancery Court in Delaware to force him to complete the deal.
“Musk refuses to honor his obligations to Twitter and its stockholders because the deal he signed no longer serves his personal interests,” Twitter said in the lawsuit. “Musk apparently believes that he — unlike every other party subject to Delaware contract law — is free to change his mind, trash the company, disrupt its operations, destroy stockholder value, and walk away.”
Musk did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit.
If permitted to abandon the deal, Musk may be forced to pay a $1 billion termination fee.
Shares in Twitter were up more than 7% in early trading on Wednesday morning.
(NEW YORK) — Popular social media platform TikTok on Wednesday announced plans for a rating system aimed at protecting young users from inappropriate content.
The move comes after sharp criticism from lawmakers and advocates in recent months over the prevalence of harmful posts on the app, especially those that appear in the feeds of young users.
The rating system, called “Content Levels,” will categorize videos based on the age-appropriateness of their material, preventing users under 18 from seeing certain content deemed mature, the company said. The system will be launched in the coming weeks and operate like similar approaches in the film and gaming industries, TikTok added.
“We want to play a positive role in the lives of the people who use our app, and we’re committed to fostering an environment where people can express themselves on a variety of topics, while also protecting against potentially challenging or triggering viewing experiences,” the company said.
In February, Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, both Democrats, sent a letter to TikTok saying its “algorithm of ‘nonstop stream of videos’ increases the likelihood that viewers will encounter harmful content even without seeking it out.”
The letter followed an investigation from The Wall Street Journal in December that found the platform surfaced tens of thousands of weight loss videos to a dozen automated accounts registered as 13 year olds within a few weeks of their joining the app.
Since last year, TikTok has been testing solutions that prevent users from seeing a flood of content focused on sensitive topics like dieting and sadness, the company said in a statement on Wednesday. In addition to the ratings system, the company is readying to launch a feature that will recognize and limit such sensitive topics from appearing in a user’s feed, it said.
In general, scrutiny over the harmful effects of content on social media, especially for young people, has intensified since leaks from whistleblower Frances Haugen last year revealed that an internal Facebook study had shown damaging mental health effects of Instagram for teen girls.
In September, Facebook suspended plans to offer a version of Instagram for kids.
The following month, officials from Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube told lawmakers they would work with them on proposals to help protect young users from harmful content on their platforms.
A bipartisan Senate bill introduced in February aims to tackle the harmful effects of social media for young people through a variety of measures, including mandatory privacy options that would allow users to disable addictive features and a tool for parents to track time spent on apps. So far, eight senators have signed on in support of the legislation.
A separate bipartisan Senate bill would fund a study of the effects of social media. Six senators have formally supported the bill.
(LOS ANGELES) — Gavin Newsom has never been afraid to throw an elbow.
During the surge of the COVID-19 delta variant, California’s Democratic governor sat on the glossy sound stage of The Late Late Show with James Corden, surrounded by Christmas lights, and slammed Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis over what Newsom called his lax coronavirus policies.
“California’s example versus Florida? It’s not even close in terms out of the outcome if you care about life, and you care about the economy,” Newsom told Corden, adding later that “clearly” DeSantis was running for president to scoop up the Trump-aligned Republican vote, pointing to DeSantis’ policies as a “litmus test” to win attention from conservative-aligned news networks.
His criticism of DeSantis is one of many made over the course of the pandemic, but Newsom’s recent $105,000 advertising buy that ran in Florida, certainly an unusual move for a politician who is running a reelection campaign of his own, has spun the question of presidential aspirations toward Newsom.
During an interview with ABC News’ Zohreen Shah prior to the ad placement, Newsom, 54, insisted he had no White House ambitions, although several unaffiliated California-based political advisers told ABC News that claim doesn’t totally hold water, and the ad campaign was a foolproof way to elevate his profile and test public appetite as President Joe Biden’s stock with Democrats continues to dive.
On Wednesday while in Washington to accept an award on education, Newsom told reporters he emphatically supported a Biden reelection bid.
Still, during his remarks, he continued to speak out on national issues, criticizing what he called Republican efforts to regulate topics in the classroom: “I don’t want to sugarcoat it. Education is under assault … And we have an obligation, moral and ethical obligation, to call out what’s going on as it relates to the suppression of free speech,” he said.
Picking a fight across state lines is “very vintage” Newsom, consistent with his appetite to be a part of the national conversation in elevating California above other states, said Jessica Levinson, a California-based legal expert and former president of the Los Angeles Ethics Commission.
“He’s always talking about California as a nation-state. And I think he fancies himself the executive of a nation-state in some ways. And he really wants to put a stake in the ground and say California is different and better and therefore, I am different and better,” said Levinson.
His vision of his state as a shining “city on a hill” is clear from his Florida ad, in which he urges residents of the Sunshine State to “join the fight” against Republican leaders or “join us in California, where we still believe in freedom,” a clear knock at DeSantis’ “free state of Florida” mantra.
Levinson said Newsom has a penchant for wanting to be a beat ahead, almost defiant, of national Democrats on key issues, as when he began issuing same-sex marriage licenses as mayor of San Fransisco in 2004 to the chagrin of conservatives, and testing the waters with a high-profile attack on DeSantis is part of that calculus.
“And if that means my political career ends, so be it,” Newsom said nearly a decade ago.
But that defiance propelled him to the governor’s mansion, and now, possibly, if the tide shifts in his direction, toward the White House.
The idea that Newsom wouldn’t run for president is “total bull—,” said Levinson, who explained that he likely sees himself as the kind of lawmaker who could “fill a leadership vacuum” if given the opportunity.
And members of Newsom’s party may be looking for candidates to fill that vacuum as well. New polling from The New York Times/Siena College shows that nearly three-quarters of the Democratic party want a new nominee at the top of the ticket. Even more bleak for the White House, 94% of Democrats under 30 said they’d prefer a fresh face.
Dan Schnur, a veteran strategist in California who worked on Sen. John McCain’s presidential bid and former Gov. Pete Wilson’s team, told ABC News that Newsom’s toe-dip into the national news-cycle is great political posturing, given the uncertainty of the Democratic leadership.
“Whether Newsom runs in two years, or in 2028, he’s now a part of that conversation. If Biden, 79, decides not to run again, Newsom is ready to pounce. And if Biden does run for reelection, Newsom certainly can lay the groundwork for four years after that,” Schnur said.
Biden has made it clear he intends to run for reelection with Vice President Kamala Harris by his side, but slipping approval numbers and concerns over age and health are determinate factors that, coupled from pressure from within his own party, could force him to reconsider.
Some of that pressure has come from Newsom himself. A day after Politico reported the contents of a leaked Supreme Court draft that would overturn Roe, Newsom slammed Democrats for not taking decisive action to codify access to abortion with a biting exclamation: “Where the hell is my party? Where’s the Democratic Party?”
“Why aren’t we standing up more firmly, more resolutely?,” Newsom questioned. “Why aren’t we calling this out? “This is a concerted, coordinated effort and yes, they’re winning. They are, they have been … We need to stand up, where is the counter offensive?”
And casting himself as a hero is what Newsom does best, said Rob Stutzman, a Republican strategist who worked for former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
“Where Newsom thrives is when he’s able to be in contrast to a Republican that he can lead a progressive coalition against,” said Stutzman. “He’s going to go after the guy he perceives as the Republican frontrunner.”
Stutzman pointed out that national focus will once again be on states and governors partly due to decisions handed down by the Supreme Court on guns and abortion access. He pointed to the spotlight of Illinois Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker, too, who is lauded for his response to the deadly July 4 Highland Park shooting outside Chicago.
On Tuesday, weeks after the shooting, Florida Democrats announced Pritzker will keynote the state’s leadership gala this weekend. Biden was the keynote speaker at the same event in 2017.
Stutzman says another theory floating around California is that Newsom may also be laying the groundwork to succeed veteran Democratic Sen. Diane Feinstein, who is 88-years-old. She’s yet to formally announce she’s retiring, and has chided suggestions that her age limits her performance in any way.
It’s likely that Newsom’s team would have placed the ad in Florida regardless of Biden’s standing, said Schnur, “but the fact that so many Democrats are disappointed that Biden wouldn’t be combative right now just makes it even better for Newsom.”
“This is the best hundred thousand dollars a California politician has ever spent,” said Schnur.
In this way, experts agreed, Newsom is able to occupy a space in the Democratic party that puts him in contrast to those in Washington who are seen as slow, ineffective, but positions him in a less-radical space than Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders or Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
As Newsom is expected to win his bid for reelection after beating back a recall attempt, there’s little to keep Newsom from leaving the state to campaign for other Democrats outside of California as DeSantis has done for down-ballot Republicans.
Seen from every angle, Newsom’s strategy here would appear to be a winning one, and allows him to keep all potential political options on the table.
“If he’s going to lock horns with DeSantis all of a sudden, is this a preview [for the 2024 election?,” said Stutzman. “If this was a Week One NFL game, is this a preview of the Super Bowl? People can imagine it. It’s plausible.”
