And his outfits from Remington Steele.
Does Gov. Gavin Newsom’s shtick seem familiar? There’s a good reason. You’ve seen it before. So did everyone else.
As a young man, Newsom made VHS tapes of three subjects and studied them obsessively: the smooth lefty swing of the Giants’ first baseman Will Clark; episodes of “Remington Steele”; and every speech by Bill Clinton. When Newsom was mayor, his staff always knew when he’d been studying Clinton, because he’d speak with an Arkansas twang. He still employs Clinton mannerisms on the stump: the bit lip of empathy, the genial head toggle as he adjudicates, the drill-sergeant jaw pop before he wades in.
That makes Newsom a bad copy of a bad politician.
Bill Clinton’s routine wore out a long time ago but at its peak, it was a whole lot better than Newsom because Clinton could (falsely) project empathy, and Newsom never figured out how to do that. The only credible emotion he ever shows is irritability.
And if you’re wondering about the ‘look’.
Then he began applying hair gel and wearing blazers and business suits, a costume inspired by “Remington Steele,” the TV show that starred Pierce Brosnan as a con man who assumes the identity of a glamorous private detective.
Appropriate enough since Newsom is a con man. And his inspirations are as shallow as him.
Daniel Greenfield, a Shillman Journalism Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center, is an investigative journalist and writer focusing on the radical Left and Islamic terrorism. Daniel became CEO of the David Horowitz Freedom Center in 2025.
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