California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) will use his second inauguration Friday to focus on the anniversary of the Capitol riot on January 6, staging a march to the State Capitol in Sacramento as he starts his second term.
The Associated Press reports:
Newsom’s inaugural ceremonies will begin with a morning march through downtown Sacramento to the state Capitol. The date — Jan. 6 — was chosen intentionally to mark the second anniversary of the violent attack by Trump supporters on the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to halt Congress from certifying Democrat Joe Biden as president.
The event is meant to “stand in peaceful contrast to the violent insurrection and assault on our democracy which occurred two years ago,” Newsom’s campaign said.
His second term officially began Monday. The planned outdoor ceremony Friday comes amid a series of massive storms that brought heavy rain, snow and intense winds across the state. The deluge prompted Newsom to declare a state of emergency and offered a reminder of the bread-and-butter work of governing the nation’s most populous state.
Newsom, who was easily reelected last year, has focused in recent months on tweaking Republicans, notably Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, as he lays the foundation for what many believe will be a future run for president.
But he has struggled to achieve much as governor. His ambitious climate goals lack a plan for implementation, according to a report by the Legislative Analyst’s Office, and he failed to keep promises on wildfire prevention.
The governor has a thin track record in his own state, but aims to project himself as a left-wing leader on social and cultural issues, as he has done since he legalized gay marriages in San Francisco nearly two decades ago.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. His recent book, RED NOVEMBER, tells the story of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary from a conservative perspective. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.