The Paradox Facing Gavin Newsom

Governor Gavin Newsom’s recent actions embodies a paradox that he himself must resolve, and that the Democratic Party and the American electorate must recognize: the more Newsom worries about becoming president, the less likely he is even to be nominated.

Newsom’s visibility and combativeness are welcome, but unless he transforms from a man of tactics into a man of purpose—willing to risk his own ambition for the republic—he will not be the answer to Trump’s authoritarian fire.

Fighting Fire with Fire—and the Limits of the Mirror

Newsom has gained traction precisely because he is doing something. Memes, trolling, Fox jousts, lawsuits: these show energy where other Democrats have been passive. Voters, desperate for confrontation, reward him. He is “fighting fire with fire,” and people applaud because someone is finally in the ring.

Yet fighting fire with fire is only half the task. A mirror reflecting Trump’s absurdities does not extinguish the flames of authoritarianism. It exposes them, ridicules them, but leaves the fire burning.

What is required is the flood: the deliberate, collective, democratic surge that douses fascism by mobilizing the people and re-sacralizing the republic itself.

The Paradox of Ambition

Here lies the Hegelian contradiction:

• Authoritarianism is about the nihilistic security of the autocrat’s self. Everything is subordinated to his survival. Power is hoarded, truth is twisted, the state becomes an instrument of one man’s will.

• Democracy requires its champions to subordinate themselves to the republic. To preserve the constitutional order, the leader must accept that he or she may never gain additional temporal power for themselves.

This means that if Gavin seeks the presidency for himself, he will be weakened, caricatured, and ultimately consumed by the enemy’s propaganda machine.

But if Gavin embraces the idea that he may never be president—if he throws his whole being into coalition-building, democratic mobilization, and the preservation of the republic as a higher good—he paradoxically makes himself the most credible candidate for the office.

The Higher Path

This is what separates the two sides of this struggle. One side clings to self, cultivating a death cult around its leader. The other side must transcend self, cultivating purpose that survives any one individual. Newsom’s fate now 100% depends on whether he can embody that transcendence.

To fight fascism effectively, he must be seen not as “Gavin fighting Trump,” but as a vessel of democratic purpose: convening governors, uniting the faithful, awakening the electorate. To be selfless is to be credible. To worry about becoming president is to forfeit the chances at it.

Overcoming the Paradox

The paradox is stark: Gavin Newsom’s only chance of becoming president lies in behaving as though he never will. The republic needs a servant, not an aspirant...

If Newsom embodies the role of servant—releasing the floodwaters of democracy rather than brandishing only the mirror of mockery—he will grow from tactician into statesman.

And in doing so, by forsaking ambition, he secures greater claim to it.

---

https://bsky.app/profile/johnrraymond.bsky.social