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Jan 14, 2026

Trump is taking Governor Newsom’s work nationwide. Learn about President Trump’s copycat efforts.

What you need to know: President Trump is Governor Newsom’s #1 fan — why else would he keep making sloppy attempts to steal California’s playbook?

SACRAMENTO – Everyone knows that the President has spread California Derangement Syndrome (CDS) for many years — some say he was even patient zero — but in reality he loves California, Governor Newsom, and our world-leading policies! Trump copies our policies on the regular to bring the riches of California to all the American people.

California is leading the nation — period. Full stop. California sets the pace, and even though Trump can’t ever keep up, we don’t blame him for trying. Instead of constantly attacking our great state, he should give credit where it’s due — because California is where the best ideas are born.

Governor Gavin Newsom

Here are just a few examples:

CalRx

Governor Newsom with swept-back gray hair speaks into a microphone, gesturing with his right hand. He wears a dark navy collared shirt with the sleeves rolled and a black smartwatch. The blue podium sign reads “CalRx” above “$11 Insulin” in white letters, with a small white California bear icon beneath. Behind him are pharmacy shelves lined with red storage bins holding boxes and pill bottles, a blue display screen showing an image of an insulin pen and its packaging, and a stainless-steel medication refrigerator or cabinet at the right.

First announced in 2023, CalRx makes available insulin for just $11. Last month (while still failing to introduce his health care plan after 10 years of promising), Trump debuted the SAD TrumpRx plan for his obesity drugs. Coming soon…maybe?

Baby bonds

Savings accounts with FREE money for kids for college or their careers? Governor Newsom announced that — CalKIDS —  way back in 2019. Trump followed along, announcing his own “Trump Accounts” in 2025. We’re glad to see Trump putting his name on a program and following California’s example for kids nationwide.

Sorry RFK, MAHA started in California

Five people (Governor Newsom, First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom, Secretary of Health and Human Service Kim Johnson, Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel, and Superintendent Alberto Carvalho) stand together at and around a blue podium with white lettering that reads “Real Food for Kids,” with a small white California bear icon beneath. The man at center, with swept-back gray hair and a navy suit over an open-collared white shirt, smiles toward the camera. The man to his right, with short dark hair and a navy suit, holds up a white sheet of paper that bears a handwritten signature, with “Approved” printed faintly above it. On the left, a man in a dark suit and light blue tie and a woman with curly hair and glasses, dressed in black, both applaud. At the far right, a woman with long blonde hair in a light gray blazer laughs and claps. Behind them, large letters on the wall read “Café LA” and, partly cut off, “LAU...,” in navy and orange, above refrigerated cases and shelves of fresh fruit.

The REAL Make America Health Again was born in California. In 2025, Governor Newsom signed legislation banning ultraprocessed foods (yes, including red dye!) from school lunches – this adds to an extensive list of actions the Governor has taken over a period of decades to address accessibility to healthier options for all. Again and again, Governor Newsom has taken action to eliminate dangerous and toxic chemicals in our food supply. This month, the Trump Administration made its own attempt by just flipping a triangle, and his federal Health and Human Services Agency announced in April 2025 that they were asking food manufacturers to limit use of some dyes.

Cutting red tape to make more housing

Governor Newsom has made addressing housing a top priority since 2019 and has signed landmark bills to accelerate building, including a historic package last year. This year, Trump declared it a priority too (though we haven’t actually seen a policy plan yet). 

DOGE is a cheap imitation of ODI 

In 2021, Governor Newsom announced the Office of Data and Innovation to find and develop efficiencies in California’s government. While Trump and Elon’s DOGE cut essential jobs and services, released loads of fake numbers, and then fizzled out, ODI continues finding real results that build value for Californians rather than making arbitrary, dangerous cuts. Learn about California’s efficiency efforts, from saving money to making programs work better,at results.ca.gov.

Addressing homeless encampments 

Imitation is the highest form of flattery, even when done poorly. Trump’s attempt at an executive order on encampments (issued a year after Governor Newsom’s) fits the bill. 

Saving Hollywood 

Governor Newsom with swept-back gray hair, wearing a navy textured jacket over an open-collared white shirt, holds a white folder-style document showing a handwritten signature in one hand and a pen in the other. He looks toward a man in a dark suit at the right edge of the frame, whose outstretched hand is reaching to take the document. A woman with short curly hair, glasses, and a bright pink-red blazer stands beside them, laughing. Behind them, a crowd of people applauds and smiles, including a bearded man in glasses and a dark suit at left, and several workers in white hard hats and high-visibility vests. At left is a blue podium with a microphone and a sign trimmed in a film-strip border; the visible text reads “...Camera, Jobs,” with a small white California bear icon below. The dim background shows overhead lights and a large piece of orange construction equipment, suggesting an industrial or studio-type space.
California’s Film & Television Tax Credit has been rolling for years. In 2024, the Governor announced a historic expansion of the program. We’re still waiting for Trump to produce a national model after he proclaimed himself as the savior of Hollywood in 2025.  

“Raking the forest”

Trump keeps talking about raking the forest, but has yet to direct the National Forest Service to match the work of California’s Wildfire and Forest Resilience Action Plan and Task Force first announced by Governor Newsom in 2020. Under Governor Newsom, the budget for forest management is now TEN TIMES larger than it was when he took office. It was $20 million in the 2018-19 budget. Since then, the state has invested $2 billion, plus an additional $200 million annually. Where is Dozy Don? He cut the federal budget for this purpose by 64%, even after being called out for not doing more and given a roadmap for making America rake again.

Apprenticeships and skilled trade plans

Governor Newsom with swept-back gray hair, wearing a gray suit over an open-collared white shirt, speaks into a microphone while holding up a white binder in his raised right hand and pointing with his left. The binder’s cover shows a reddish aerial image with the text “Kern County Regional Plan Part 2, August 2024.” The blue podium sign reads “More Jobs, Faster” in white capital letters, with a small white California bear icon beneath. Behind him stand several workers: a young man with dyed red hair and glasses in a black T-shirt with a “USW” logo, a bearded man in a white hard hat and neon-yellow safety vest, and a bearded man in a black cap and black T-shirt with orange sleeves and a “USW” logo, looking on with serious expressions. A yellow piece of heavy equipment and a partly built industrial structure fill the background.

Despite having four years to create one during his first administration, Trump waited until 2025 to announce his apprenticeship program and a nationwide goal of 1 million apprenticeships. He must know that at least half of those will come from California, since Governor Newsom announced a goal of 500,000 apprenticeships by 2029 – and California has already already surpassed that goal with over 600,000 earn-and-learn apprenticeships, with 237,637 registered apprentices, since 2019, bolstered by the Governor’s Master Plan for Career Education announced in 2024.

Press releases, Recent news

Recent news

Governor Newsom announces appointments 11.6.26

Nov 6, 2026

News SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the following appointments:Abnner Olivares, of Sacramento, has been appointed Special Assistant to the Secretary at the California Housing and Homelessness Agency. Olivares has been Special Assistant to the Legal...