California Governor Gavin Newsom didn’t hold back on Wednesday. In an appearance on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” he unleashed a blistering critique of some of President Donald Trump’s closest allies, labeling them “frauds” and “phonies” for abandoning their principles to join his administration.
But here’s where it gets really interesting. Newsom didn’t save equal criticism for everyone. His most cutting remarks were reserved for Vice President JD Vance, whom he described as something far more dangerous than the president himself.
“Vance, for whatever reason, scares me almost more than Trump,” Newsom told Jen Psaki. “Talk about a guy who put a mask on and his face grew into it.”
That’s a brutal line. And it hits harder when you consider Vance’s actual track record.
The Flip-Flop Chronicles
The irony is almost too perfect. Just a few years ago, Vance was among Trump’s most vocal critics. He called him an “idiot.” He warned that Trump could become “America’s Hitler.” He declared himself a proud “never Trump guy.” These weren’t wishy-washy comments either. They were direct, unambiguous denunciations.
Then something changed. Vance got the vice presidential nod, and suddenly those fiery convictions evaporated.
He’s not alone in this particular evolution. Secretary of State Marco Rubio once called Trump a “con artist” and made pointed jokes about his hands. Senator Lindsey Graham has his own history of Trump criticism that’s well documented. Both men are now firmly in the Trump orbit, holding positions of significant power.
Newsom’s point is devastatingly simple: if you recognized Trump as dangerous, what does it say about you that you’re now working for him?
Why Vance Represents Something Different
The difference, according to Newsom, is that Vance represents a unique kind of threat. It’s not just about flip-flopping on principles, though that’s certainly part of it. There’s something more calculated about the shift, something that suggests a longer game at play.
Vance brought intellectual credibility to Trump’s movement. He wrote a bestselling memoir that made him a cultural figure. He articulated grievances in a way that resonated with millions of people. When he reversed course, it wasn’t just another politician changing positions. It gave cover to others who wanted to rationalize their own compromises.
There’s also the matter of generational optics. Trump is 78. Vance is in his 40s. For people concerned about the future of the Republican Party or American politics more broadly, Vance represents continuity and potential succession. That’s a different kind of dangerous.
The Broader Question Nobody’s Asking
So why is this moment worth paying attention to? Because it exposes something uncomfortable about politics in general. We live in an era where principles can be shuffled and reshuffled depending on what’s available. Power and proximity to power seem to matter more than consistency or conviction.
The people Newsom is criticizing aren’t fringe figures. They’re men who helped shape the Republican Party’s direction. They had platforms and influence. They used those platforms to warn against Trump. And then they accepted his offer.
It’s tempting to dismiss this as typical political opportunism. Politicians change positions all the time. That’s what they do. But there’s something different about consciously warning people about a danger and then joining forces with that danger yourself.
What does that say about your original warnings? Were they genuine? Were they calculated? Did you simply misjudge the situation? Or did you decide that personal advancement was worth abandoning your stated convictions?
These questions matter because they affect how we evaluate political leadership going forward. If someone tells you a particular leader is dangerous and then works for that leader, how do you calibrate your trust? What’s their judgment actually worth?
Maybe the real question isn’t whether Vance is more dangerous than Trump. Maybe it’s what it says about all of us that we’ve become so accustomed to this kind of reversal that we barely register it anymore.
