'Most On-Brand Thing Imaginable': Gavin Newsom Roasted for Allegedly Self-Funding His Own Bronze Statue

Gavin Newsom faced serious backlash on social media after being accused of self-funding his own bronze statue.

A new book titled Fool's Gold: The Radicals, Con Artists, and Traitors Who Killed the California Dream and Now Threaten Us All, written by Susan Crabtree and Jedd McFatter, has accused the California governor of using "behested payments" to help fund a bust commemorating his time as the mayor of San Francisco.

The book alleges that two companies owned by Newsom donated approximately $10,000 to a non-profit organization to finance the creation of the bronze bust, which sits on a black granite base.

According to the San Francisco Arts Commission, the statue honoring Newsom's tenure as mayor from 2004 to 2011 was completed in 2018.

Newsom's office initially stated that private funds would cover the costs of the bust, which was crafted by artist Bruce Wolfe.

Several critics took to social media to ridicule the Democratic leader, labeling him a "narcissist" and a "self-aggrandizing d---."

One user on X, formerly known as Twitter, shared: "Gavin Newsom secretly using taxpayer money to fund a bronze bust of himself is the most on-brand thing imaginable. While California spirals into chaos with rampant crime, homelessness, and failing infrastructure, Newsom is busy commissioning statues of himself."

Another X user commented: "Of course that absolute loser can't fix California but can waste time a bust of himself and a podcast. Good lord. California, we are so f-----."

A third person joked: "I'm surprised they were able to include the excessive hair gel."

"To imply the Governor personally funded or proposed this effort is categorically false," a spokesperson for Newsom said in a statement in response to the new book. "As is customary in the city, the effort was independently proposed by a nonprofit and funded by private donors — not taxpayers… This was reported at the time and isn’t news now."

"Businesses tied to the Newsom family made a modest contribution to the privately funded initiative and raised funds for the effort as reported publicly at the time," Newsom's office said. "The contributions were not in any way ‘secret’ as falsely claimed by some now."

The governor's office continued to criticize the book, claiming, "This publication should come with a free tinfoil hat, a lifetime subscription to InfoWars, and a VIP dinner with Elvis Presley and Bigfoot. The authors seem allergic to basic facts — especially the kind you can confirm with a 10-second Google search, like how many children the Governor has."