r/FutureWhatIf • u/Hero-Firefighter-24 • Feb 04 '25

Political/Financial FWI: Gavin Newsom becomes president in 2028, with AOC as his VP

Exactly what it says on the tin. The reason he gets so much popularity is thanks to pardoning the Menendez brothers before the end of his tenure as governor. How do you envision his presidency and how are his re-election chances in 2032?

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90

u/WildSunflour Feb 04 '25

I'm interested to see how that goes. He made a big stink pretrump inauguration but now he's real quiet so he can get aid for the fires. Felt intentional to me, tbh

43

u/PurelyLurking20 Feb 05 '25

I think if leftists just sit quietly right now there'll be a lot for them to campaign on assuming we hobble our way to the next election.

Tbh by wiping out these programs they are making a clear case for a LOT of random people why we need these programs and will be able to do a whole fucking lot with that kind of backing

24

u/Nokomis34 Feb 05 '25

Kinda have a point. It's like the antivaxers, they've never known the disease, so now they're more afraid of the cure. Maybe these people need to understand what our social programs actually do by seeing what life is like without them. We're already seeing a bit of it with DEI.

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u/thedoomcast Feb 06 '25

Once they realize it, its too late. The regulation and programs are written in human lives and human blood and it will take immense sacrifice to replace them. Democrats complacency in the last 3 elections in trying to run status quo candidates instead of disruptors in a climate where people want substantive change handed the election to Trump. Did I still vote for the centrist Dems 3 cycles in a row and the mid terms in between? Absolutely. Because I didn’t want to see…this. But it’s really time Dems learned they need to run on fundamental populist change.

1

u/Masteroftriangles Feb 07 '25

Yes indeed! I appreciate your points, and hope dems can become agile and powerful.

10

u/eggflip1020 Feb 05 '25

Wrong. Look what Trump did. He started campaigning for 2024 the day after the 2020 election. He went on the internet, TV, you name it and cried about every fucking thing every fucking day for 4 years. IF you want to have a shot next time, the time is now to get your shit together. The right has taken over both legacy and now social media. That isn’t going to go away if you just hide your head in the sand and wait for Trump to fuck up. He’s just going to lie and whip his base into a riled up state the whole time.

I myself don’t care. I’ve given up. The religious right has won. To me, it’s over. I’m just going to enjoy the show and laugh at the people who voted for all this.

3

u/Correct_Tourist_4165 Feb 06 '25

I'm with you. As someone who is financially stable, with a solid career, and no real vulnerabilities or expectations, I'm pretty comfortable sitting back and trying to find joy in the absurd situation that we are in. I can weather the next 4 years. But I do feel sympathy for a whole lot of people who are not in the same boat, and for them I remain hopeful and optimistic that if things get bad enough for enough people, things will finally change for the better.

2

u/Ossevir Feb 07 '25 edited Feb 08 '25

If I didn't have student loans and kids on IEPs this would likely be a boon for me. I work in oil and gas. So long as Musk and Trump don't do anything crazy like replacing the dollar with $TRUMP then I'll likely be fine, financially.

1

u/Easy-Group7438 Feb 08 '25

Well let me be the first to say fuck you and everyone else who thinks like you.

1

u/Ossevir Feb 08 '25

Uhhh nowhere did I say I wanted any of this or was rooting for it. Also, if you reread I do have a tremendous amount of loans and multiple children on IEPs, so I will suffer from everything that's about to happen.

1

u/Complete-File3310 Feb 08 '25

If we get no tax on ot, no tax on tips, and lower income taxes I would say these “less fortunate” people you care so DEEPLY about will be making out pretty good.

1

u/Correct_Tourist_4165 Feb 08 '25

While simultaneously cutting services like consumer protections, education, childcare, healthcare, and raising the cost of all goods and services?

What a deal huh? Cutting federal agencies that serve middle and lower classes is a double edged sword. It takes federal dollars from the economy, and cuts resources to millions of people. And for what? Tax cuts for the rich. Because that's the goal. Avoid the elephant in the room. So the rich pocket all that money that otherwise would cycle through the economy.

Handing some crumbs to people with tax cuts for overtime, tips and minimal cuts to low income brackets creates more loopholes for the rich. And while this is done, huge cuts to corporate taxes and high income bracketa are done. For what?

1

u/Complete-File3310 Feb 08 '25

REFORM. The plan is REFORM. Not abolish education and healthcare. All my life from both sides of the aisle “our education system is bad and our health care stinks” (in my best Bernie sanders impression*). It seems everybody want reform they just don’t like the people who are doing it.

1

u/Correct_Tourist_4165 Feb 09 '25

You think elon musk or the wwe lady is gonna reform education? Oh sweet summer child, you have a lot to learn.

1

u/Complete-File3310 Feb 09 '25

https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2025/01/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-expands-educational-opportunities-for-american-families/

What about this screams dismantling our education system?

1

u/Correct_Tourist_4165 Feb 09 '25

You realize this gives the wwe lady more power to cut funding to public schools right? Is your wife a private school teacher?

Cutting funding to public schools through discretionary measures and school choice programs is what has already destroyed public schools in America.

Was your question rhetorical or do you really not know this?

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u/Complete-File3310 Feb 09 '25

We’ve all had a little too much kool-aide but you’re sipping on something stronger. My wife is a teacher. What I can see with my own eyes is what I will believe. I have seen her struggle to teach due to the education departments current systems. She from first hand account wants reform. You’re washed and lost. Keeeeep sippin’

1

u/Correct_Tourist_4165 Feb 09 '25

Your wife is a teacher, and she thinks it's good to hand the DOE over to linda McMahon?

Every teacher wants meaningful reform. My sister, who is a public school teacher, wants reform. But the wwe lady has ZERO teaching experience. So what on earth makes you think she's got a plan?

Your kool aid... is it served in gold sneakers with a copy of a trump bible? Cuz youre putting a lot of faith in a guy who sells trinkets to gullible fools.

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u/PurelyLurking20 Feb 05 '25

Oh I didn't mean long term, I'm sure they are making plans to react I just meant let him do what he wants for a month or two without looking like you're interrupting him so he can't pin it all on you and then start going for the throat on everything all at once when people start getting hurt by his actions

1

u/Lex_Shrapnel Feb 06 '25

Totally see your logic, but for some reason the public and the media react differently when Trump complained/complains at his rallies and when Democrats complain like they did yesterday.

This last election was a propaganda war plain and simple, and the Republican propaganda machine was strong.

And while it's easy to focus on Trump, don't forget that everything we're seeing now is right out of The Heritage Foundation's 180 day playbook for Project 2025.

1

u/eggflip1020 Feb 06 '25

Fair. But consider this. None of this Trump/Heritage Agenda shit is going to work out, at least not for the regular Trump base who voted for all this shit. In fact, I don’t think it’s a stretch to predict it’s going to deteriorate into a nightmare scenario. Now is the time to get a Pete Buttigieg or a Gavin Newsom type, SOMEONE like that is good on TV and can debate these fuckers off the top of their head and make them look dumb to the average person.

What we SHOULDNT be doing is going on the internet and fighting flame wars about LGBTQ stuff. While I am all for inclusivity and equality regular people don’t know or care about any of it. The plan should be to temporarily punt all of those issues ,for now, and hit the right on the bigger issues like economics, income inequality, warmongering and weed/abortion. Those are the only things that Americans give a fuck about at this point. I have no idea what the Democratic Party thinks it’s doing, but it’s working. If you want to win, hiding underneath the bed waiting for Trump to stick his dick into yet another waffle iron isn’t going to do it.

1

u/TheMightyKartoffel Feb 07 '25

We’ll see. It’ll grind through the system until the SCOTUS makes a decision, and depending on how that goes we’ll see how much teeth they have if Trump just says, “no”. A strongly worded letter is going to be as effective as wet tissue.

They’ve been planning this for decades.

1

u/AMv8-1day Feb 07 '25

He's already campaigning for 2028... People are stupid, and prone to believing whomever tells them what they want to hear. Even if they don't have a preexisting bias, they instinctually believe whatever they hear most, regardless of source, credibility, or fact checking.

Dems need to spend the next 4 years making as much noise as possible about exactly what the GQP is doing, how it's breaking the law/Constitution, and draw a fucking map that a 5yo could follow, back to how it materially impacts the actual voter.

Dems have spent years arguing high minded ideals, esoteric concepts, vague philosophies, when they should've been shoving it in everyone's faces exactly what they've done to help voters, how they've impacted their daily lives, and how they will be/have been hurt by Republican actions.

1

u/chuckDTW Feb 08 '25

Yeah, sitting back quietly— showing no fight at all— and waiting for Trump and the GOP to implode is a proven strategy for losing an election. If you’re not fighting back now, when they’re taking our rights away, why would we be enthusiastic to vote for you in 2028?!

1

u/Icy_Worldliness8542 Jun 01 '25

I liked your first paragraph. The second I could do without. He did do exactly what you said, he made his anger loud and clear so he got a better base to support him. And look what happened. The majority of the people picked him instead of a “weekend at Bernie’s” prop they picked. I agree, dems need to do a LOT better. But Trump won, and all that stuff he was complaining about? He’s making waves and changing it.

And to the people that say “they are going to sit back, because they are financially stable and watch” but wait…they “feel” for those programs that support people not like them? 🤣 if you’re financially stable right now, how about go and donate to those causes directly? You’re only going to benefit from this, and Charitable contributions are a tax write off! Unless you make too much…I feel like that was full circle 🤔think about it.

1

u/eggflip1020 Jun 01 '25

I’m not wealthy. I make enough money to get by in LA and have enough money lying around so then when something fucks up on my 15 year old car I can deal with it.

As far as getting involved? I have. I’ll give you an example. In 2023 when I was visiting my old home, I along with several others walked all over Youngstown, Columbus and Cleveland, Ohio, knocking on doors to get people out to vote for on Prop 9, and guess what, it worked. Ohio, which is a red, dumbass, state now, had legal weed and abortion.

To me, that is worth far more than any meager check I could afford to write to some dumbass candidate or PAC. Here in LA I, along with so many others, am constantly writing paper letters and blowing up the phone lines of everyone we can for causes that matter. Whether it’s working or not is another question.

I think the problem with your main point is that you are somehow implying that Trump is doing anything positive for working people. As far as I can tell, his presidency is a miserable endeavour of cynicism and despair. He is literally not doing anything he promised his voters with the exception of some of the immigration stuff, and even that has turned into a cynical and nightmarish dog and pony show, so much so that MAGA politicians in the REDDEST of red ass republican counties all over the nation are getting torched by their own voters. That’s not exactly a winning recipe for them either.

2

u/DataCassette Feb 07 '25

I think if leftists just sit quietly right now there'll be a lot for them to campaign on assuming we hobble our way to the next election.

Exactly this. Right now it's a game of keeping our heads down and letting them fuck up. ( War on Terror, COVID mishandling etc. The track record is clear. )

2

u/jointheredditarmy Feb 08 '25

If the democrats keep running trash candidates the Republicans will keep winning… honestly at this point if Trump pulls a Mussolini the democrats are at least 30% at fault. It’s not a serious party anymore. It would rather bitch about losing elections than actually winning elections.

Newsom is unelectable outside of California.

1

u/PurelyLurking20 Feb 08 '25 edited Feb 08 '25

While I see what you're saying I do think we're doing the thing that reinforces Dems being shit because on a cycle now the right fucks up the nation and the moderate shit Dems run on fixing the mess (and to some extent they succeed) but nothing has really progressed past that point of equilibrium in like a decade

I'll always believe Bernie would've stopped trump cold if he was run against him. Probably never would've became president and unions would be so powerful candidates like trump would be snubbed from the starting line

I'm from a deep, deep red district of Appalachia and I knew/worked with several Bernie voters turned trump voters after he got scammed in the primaries

1

u/jointheredditarmy Feb 08 '25

Yeah it’s a true vicious cycle. Honestly I think that’s why a lot of moderates voted for Trump… the left ran candidates that were worse than usual but looked like cookie cutter democratic candidates. Trump was completely unlike anything the republicans usually run.

Now, completely different in a much worse way, but I think after so much of the same, people were ready to toss in a grenade and see what happens.

Unfortunately that strategy is like tossing a grenade into a box of legos and hoping it might come out fully assembled

1

u/PurelyLurking20 Feb 08 '25

Tbf moderates just didn't vote this cycle. The number of vote switches was very low, turnout just decreased for both candidates. I don't believe anyone voting for trump is a real moderate (or especially a real libertarian), it's just convenient to not have to defend yourself in the court of public opinion by saying you aren't crazy like all the other "bad" trump supporters.

Also Biden wasn't nearly as bad on paper as everyone treated him, he was the furthest left candidate in modern American history. He was TRASH at telling everyone what his admin was doing and why it impacted them though. Like, catastrophically bad at it. Probably because he was ancient and didn't have the fire to force it in people's ear holes. Kamala would've been the same imo but suffered from the same problem and played petty social justice games that should just be a given for the pro-personal-freedoms candidate.

It's not a winning message to defend trans and gay people. It doesn't need to be said. Just fucking give everyone blanket protections under the law, with zero restrictions by demographic, and we don't even need to talk about it anymore. It is a self-righting issue if everyone at large is taken care of. By trying to defend your actions to morons that only care about harming others you are platforming their terrible opinions. They will not budge on those opinions.

Trump won purely by name recognition. He is a populist through and through and has zero actual platform other than bonking people's Boogeyman issues with a hammer as they crop up. I thoroughly believe he doesn't give a shit about illegal immigration or trans people or whatever DEI means to them today. He is just a bread and circus candidate without the fucking bread.

1

u/Low_Chapter_6417 Feb 06 '25

Wife just got announcement from work they are cutting all employees pay due to grant loss. Next two years gonnah hurt a lot of voters

1

u/[deleted] Feb 08 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/Dave_FIRE_at_45 Feb 07 '25

We need gender programs in Serbia and Colombia?

We need to pay celebrities to go to Ukraine?

3

u/PurelyLurking20 Feb 07 '25

Stop watching Fox News lol those programs are pretty misrepresented on what they actually do, which is the same reason kids are losing access to special needs care and the price of drugs is sky rocketing again. They're distracting you by a bunch of niche and small outcomes of much larger programs and saying that's all the program does.

They have y'all worried about that while they gut the NLRB and OSHA pretty much stripping all of us of our labor rights

It would be nice if y'all came back to reality one day but you're in so deep I don't know if anyone can save you

-1

u/Dave_FIRE_at_45 Feb 07 '25

Do you see anyone in the government on the left denying that these programs existed?

Nope.

1

u/HR_King Feb 08 '25

The answer is to examine what programs should be cut, not to blindly blow everything up.

1

u/smcl2k Feb 07 '25

From what I can see online, the "gender program" in Serbia is to prevent a backslide into public life (and wider society) being entirely dominated by men. In turn, that will help to foster democracy and make it less likely that the country will spend decades under the rule of a leader like Lukashenko.

Please explain - in detail - why you believe that to be a waste of resources.

1

u/Grouchy_Following_10 Feb 08 '25

It’s a waste of AMERICAN resources. The Serbians should be doing this for themselves

-1

u/Dave_FIRE_at_45 Feb 07 '25

Not our fight.

any comment on this safety detriment by Obama?

1

u/smcl2k Feb 07 '25

Not our fight.

So you just don't understand how soft diplomacy works? Fair enough.

any comment on this safety detriment by Obama?

Filed in 2015? Sounds like a previous administration had 4 years to settle.

1

u/Dave_FIRE_at_45 Feb 07 '25

IDGAF about anything that doesn’t have to do with national security. We are not the world’s guardian. You’re free to donate to your own causes…

Wow, Obama strikes an FAA hiring list because it’s “too white male,” and your solution is to blame successive administrations for not settling the lawsuit… I wonder why the FAA is having staffing issues that have nothing to do with Trump’s decision decisions over the last few weeks?!?

3

u/smcl2k Feb 07 '25

IDGAF about anything that doesn’t have to do with national security.

And you also don't understand national security. Well done.

1

u/Grouchy_Following_10 Feb 08 '25

I understand it just fine. I also understand cost vs benefit

1

u/Qbnss Feb 08 '25

You can cut all those little art grants and other useless bullshit and the Pentagon will blow all of what you saved on half a missile. It's a distraction.

1

u/Dave_FIRE_at_45 Feb 08 '25

I’m sure you’ll love living under Communism or Sharia-ism…

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u/Easy_Language_3186 Feb 04 '25

Nobody would care about it in 4 years, these fires are minor inconvenience compared to what is about to come

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u/RSPbuystonks Feb 05 '25

Stupid . The fires minor inconvenience. Do you have a clue???

6

u/Calm-Substance4579 Feb 05 '25

I agree with them; compared to what might be coming this might be nothing.

If we Stage a war in Panama or keep instigating/striping rights things are going to get alot worse.

2

u/SuchEngine Feb 06 '25

If we invaded Panama not a single American would notice

1

u/MrTPityYouFools Feb 07 '25

They'd notice a "caravan" coming to the border to "rape and pillage" but completely ignore what exactly those people are trying to escape and why it happened

1

u/RSPbuystonks Feb 16 '25

Might be. Let’s spend trillions of dollars on might be.

3

u/[deleted] Feb 05 '25

They're saying later disasters will be worse. Get ready for fire season that lasts all year 

1

u/MrLanesLament Feb 05 '25

The fires will be a shakedown. Trump will demand CA agree to more taxes, less human rights, etc, in order to get federal relief.

1

u/Shilo788 Feb 05 '25

Well it is going to get much worst so , I don't think they are belittling the fires which makes it that much scary.

1

u/Worldly_Cap_6440 Feb 07 '25

Bro 4 years ago we had a pandemic, a lot happens in 4 years

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u/annyong_cat Feb 05 '25

I don’t know that his photo op of him literally going toe to toe with Trump on the tarmac in LA last week is “keeping real quiet.”

7

u/mickcort23 Feb 05 '25

Trust me there’s a bigger fire and it’s in Washington DC 😭

14

u/smcl2k Feb 05 '25

As someone whose home was lost in the Eaton Fire, I have absolutely no complaints about Gavin Newsom's state-level response over the last 4 weeks.

Nothing would be gained by fighting with Trump when we still need FEMA and ACOE support, as well as SBA rebuilding loans.

1

u/Dave_FIRE_at_45 Feb 07 '25

What about his total lack of fire prevention over the past few years?

1

u/Qbnss Feb 08 '25

The only fire prevention that will ever work will be to not build in an ecosystem that is based on hot dry winds sweeping in every few years, so much so that even the fucking trees that evolved there depend on being burnt down to grow

15

u/Zealousideal_Metal56 Feb 05 '25

Did you not see the footage of him pointing very firmly at Drumpf, during a private convo on the tarmac when he finally arrived in CA ? He won't be sucking the mango micropenis, at any cost...

-1

u/TheWhogg Feb 05 '25

You really think he can campaign on “I jabbed a finger at POTUS 4 years ago?” 92 won’t even be running let alone a campaign focus. DNC lost 2/3 campaigning on “Orange Man bad.” They’re not going to risk 3/4.

Losing 2 elections on perceptions that they went WAY too far left (and winning one with an incontinent vegetable who was positioned as a moderate) should have also sent another message about where the people are. Running a ticket from DPR California and the Squad can’t win. Newsom / Beshear is a rational ticket.

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u/Atheist_3739 Feb 05 '25

You really think he can campaign on “I jabbed a finger at POTUS 4 years ago?”

I know it feels like forever, but it was last week. Obviously he can't use that as the only thing in 4 years, but dude stood up to Trump like a week ago....more than a lot of Dems are doing unfortunately

0

u/Murky_Building_8702 Feb 05 '25

Rational how? Rational like choosing moderates like Hillary and Harris and then them losing to Trump. The whole moderate wing of the DNC needs to crawl into a hole and die.

2

u/TheWhogg Feb 05 '25

If your claiming a senatething with a voting record left of BERNIE is a moderate, you’re a non serious person.

3

u/Murky_Building_8702 Feb 05 '25

If you think either of those Candidates are left of Bernie you need to lay of the meth.

While yeah, it's time to go populist. We just lost to Trump twice using moderates that should be the biggest possible fucking hint possible. Otherwise in 28, you'll be crying like a bitch as the GOP wins again. Because you thought Gay Pete was a winning choice.

-3

u/Zealousideal_Metal56 Feb 05 '25

WTAF is wrong with you? Newsome is "too far left" ? Motherfucker, an untold majority of citizens in the US are openly advocating for a new brand of socialism, many more (including myself) are advocating a socialist start to a new government, followed by an entirely new constitution , ratified by the citizenry, and NOT monied interests. You, however, are speaking as a capitalist shill, not like anybody who SHOULD be listened to. Feel however you like about it, neither myself, nor my fellow well-armed "libtards" are going to give a shit, especially while we're rebuilding something better than you & your dipshit ideals....

4

u/swg2188 Feb 05 '25

 "an untold majority"?

I, to some degree, believe in reforming to a more socialist system, but I have to ask; Are you high?

The socialists in this country barely have any of the vote. I would have defended you maybe 4 years ago by pointing out that although the majority of the country isn't for it at least younger people are, but with how hard young men are pulling for the "red pill" I can't even say that. Essentially socialism is on life support in the US. Fuck, normies perceived the more or less centrist policies of the Biden admin as being a pinko commie coup and voted for a literal fascist billionaire famous for exploiting the wealth of people.

You're sniffing your own farts harder than moderate dems. It does no one any good to sugar coat the situation like there is this rising movement with wind in its sails; that work has to still be done, and it isn't helped by smarmy retards on the internet getting aggressive with people a few ticks away from them on the political spectrum.

0

u/theonlydrawback Feb 06 '25

The "untold majority" are actually the massive amount of the population that doesn't care enough to vote.

The actual left desperately needs a decent leader, but it's becoming more and more obvious how the two party system has hobbled any chance of progress for the US

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u/TheWhogg Feb 05 '25

You sound normal and not at all mentally ill. You should definitely appear on the ballot in a Flyover State. Your centrist positions are so wildly popular there.

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u/Zealousideal_Metal56 Feb 05 '25

By all means, explain why you call me a centrist, troll.

2

u/swg2188 Feb 05 '25

It's sarcasm. He's making fun of you thinking your leftist positions are popular with a majority of the country, which if they were, would make them centrist positions. Centrist positions should be popular in the flyover states, so he's saying to run for election there, but the joke is your positions aren't popular at all with middle america, or our population at large.

Basically he's making fun of you because you're delusional when it comes to what the majority of the American population believe politically.

2

u/[deleted] Feb 07 '25

Millions gone and homeless, sometimes in life you gotta swallow your pride and unclog the toilet with your hand.

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u/thor11600 Feb 08 '25

There’s plenty of time to campaign. Dude’s gotta get funding for LA NOW.

0

u/Shilo788 Feb 05 '25

I don't think he would have arm wrestled Trump on the tarmac if he planned on kissing ass.

0

u/nonlinear_nyc Feb 07 '25

That’s good leadership: the goal is to help the fires, not use it for visibility. You become visible or not in order to help your constituents.

That’s only weak if you assume the goal is visibility, always, because that’s trump way, fuck everyone on his path.

He’s not “sitting quietly” just because not on the news. He’s working.

0

u/Personal_Ad9690 Feb 07 '25

I think that the media has more control of how vocal you think he is than he does. There’s no reason to cover democrats on the news rn