Heading West to Join the Opposition to Trump in the Shadow of Yosemite

Snow capped mountain peeks over Yellowstone Lake: Glynn Wilson

The Big Picture –
By Glynn Wilson –

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Like Honest Abe and Honest George, I can’t lie.

I’ve moved around and seen a lot in my life, but I’ve long planned to make my final move to the West Coast.

Call it my own personal manifest destiny, or simply riding off into the sunset like the scene from a Western movie. Maybe it’s a Cowboy’s fantasy. But it has been my plan for years, and now it’s about to come true. Or at least I’m going to try, with your help.

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For years, it seemed every time I tried to head that way something happened to keep me in the East or the South. Like last year, when I was camping in Western Missouri right after the election, and thinking about the Rocky Mountains in Colorado.

Consulting with Spirits at Devil’s Den After a Nightmare Election Night

The spirits turned me back South for the winter.

But now the timing seems to be lining up just right to make the move out West, finally.

Do not mistake this move as a total retirement plan. There is unfinished business left in Washington. I will not rest well until I see Donald Trump finished once and for all. It’s just that the movement to finally deal a crushing blow to defeat Trump and his MAGA movement exists in California in the person of Gavin Newsom, the governor who is clearly gearing up for a presidential run in 2028 and involvement in helping the Democrats regain control of the House and Senate in 2026.

I also have friends and opportunities there in the shadow of Yosemite, and the timing is now. More details will be revealed once I get there.

While it’s way too early to pay much attention to presidential polls for 2028, there is a new poll out showing Newsom with a lead over JD Vance, the presumed Republican front runner if Trump actually steps aside or dies before November, 2028. And the election, if there is to be one, is still more than three years away. There is much work to do.

Legally Trump is ineligible to run for president again – unless of course he declares martial law and cancels the election, plunging our democracy into total chaos and turmoil.

Some Republicans have pushed the idea that he could seek another term, so he has been included in some polls about the 2028 election. If the Republicans retain control of the House and Senate in 2026, and Trump is still healthy enough to run, his sycophants there could try to repeal the Twenty-Second Amendment with the help of Trump’s conservative Supreme Court, which seems mysteriously hell bent on granting him all the power he needs to act as America’s first dictator. So much for checks and balances.

The Twenty-Second Amendment to the Constitution limits the number of times a person can be elected to the office of President to twice, and sets additional eligibility conditions for presidents who succeed to unexpired terms of predecessors. Congress approved the Amendment on March 21, 1947, in part in response to criticism by conservatives of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s four terms, and submitted it to the state legislatures for ratification. By February 27, 1951, the requisite 36 of the 48 states had ratified the amendment (neither Alaska nor Hawaii had yet been admitted as a state), and its provisions came into force then.

Newsom has emerged as a favorite of many Democrats to become the party’s 2028 presidential nominee. He has not formally announced his candidacy, but has taken actions – like traveling to the early-voting primary state of South Carolina – that have fueled speculation he could be gearing up for a potential run. He has cast himself as a leading foil to Trump, taking on high-profile battles over redistricting and the president’s efforts to send federal troops into Los Angeles to quell protests over Trump’s immigration policies.

A recent Leger poll found Newsom leading Trump and Vance, as well as Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has also been floated as a potential 2028 presidential candidate. In a match-up against Trump, Newsom led by four points (48 to 44 percent). He led Vance by a smaller single-point margin (47 to 46 percent) and Rubio by five points (49 to 44 percent).

Democrats would also lead the generic ballot by about two points (48 to 46 percent) among decided voters in the 2028 presidential election, the early poll found.

Andrew Enns, an executive vice president at Leger, said the poll suggests Newsom has “managed to get some good name recognition and connect in a positive manner” with Democrats and independent voters.

“It will be interesting to see with these numbers if we see Newsom being a bit more proactive in the midterm elections outside of California,” he said. “These numbers give a little bit of a sense that it would be interesting if he did engage in that midterm election and what impact he might have on the eventual result.”

The poll was first reported by Newsweek.

Of course Trump has floated the idea of running for a third term, sometimes seemingly in jest, but told Time magazine in April 2024 he “wouldn’t be in favor” of repealing the Amendment, which states emphatically that “no person shall be elected to the office of the president more than twice.”

Enns noted that voters may view Vance as a bit less “outspoken” than Trump, which could be one reason why his support is a bit stronger than the incumbent president, although insiders say he is not well liked even in Republican circles. Critics say he has no charisma to carry on Trump’s MAGA legacy, only a tool and a creation of the right-wing Heritage Foundation.

In a hypothetical Republican primary, assuming Trump does not run, Vance would have the advantage among Republicans, as 50 percent said they would support him. Barely half. Nine percent would back Rubio, while 8 percent said they would vote for Texas Senator Ted Cruz.

Former Vice President Kamala Harris led the hypothetical Democratic primary with 30 percent support, while Newsom followed with 24 percent. But of course Harris has said she is not interested in getting back into the national or state political arena, saying she would not run for governor in California and would rather watch cooking shows these days. Too bad. She was a tough senator. Wish she was there now.

Another 10 percent said they would vote for New York Democrat Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and 8 percent said they would back former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

The poll surveyed 1,014 adults from August 29 to August 31 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.

A recent YouGov/Yahoo poll similarly showed Newsom up against Trump and Vance. Newsom led both Republicans by eight points (49 to 41 percent). It surveyed 1,690 adults from August 29 to September 2 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.

Candidates typically make campaign announcements after the midterms, which are scheduled to take place in November 2026. Newsom’s second term as governor ends at the start of 2027. He is not eligible to run for reelection due to term limits.

Newsom Understands Social Media

Another reason to get onboard supporting Newsom is that he has figured out how to compete with Trump on social media, unlike most other Democrats, who demonstrated this weakness in the last election cycle. Their messaging seemed stuck in the past, with statements sounding, well, like typical Washington political speak.

According to a recent report by Politico, Newsom is not only getting on Republicans’ nerves on X and other platforms. He is redefining how Democrats function as the opposition party in the age of Trump.

How Gavin Newsom trolled his way to the top of social media

Even Trump’s brain trust Steve Bannon seems worried.

“He’s trying to mimic President Trump,” Bannon said. “He’s no Trump, but if you look at the Democratic Party, he’s at least getting up there, and he’s trying to imitate a Trumpian vision of fighting, right? He looks like the only person in the Democratic Party who is organizing a fight that they feel they can win.”

Stefan Smith, a digital strategist who was online engagement director on Pete Buttigieg’s 2020 campaign, says Newsom “isn’t just trolling MAGA; he’s proving to Democrats that stepping off your digital high horse and entering the fray is both messy and worth it. The man was political roadkill a few months ago but, with a shift in strategy, he’s become a cause célèbre of the Resistance 2.0.”

So please won’t you help us move our base of operations to California? You will not be disappointed, especially with the photography along the way in the Mark Twain National Forest in Missouri, Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado, and ultimately, Yosemite, where we will be camping in the shadow of the national park where the idea got its start.

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