Predictability is Gov. Brylcreem's middle name.
So it should surprise no one that soon as another business announced it was pulling up stakes in California, its governor, Gavin Newsom, was right there to hurl abuse instead of ask himself where he went wrong.
The company that already went bankrupt and closed every store across the country two years ago? Ok. https://t.co/lW43NTBeEc
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) August 20, 2025
Like a lot of retailers, Bed Bath & Beyond went bankrupt during the COVID lockdowns of which his state was the most enthusiastic practitioner. It was sold to another company, and that company is trying to rebuild it, with 300 new brick-and-mortar stores again, Now Newsom's mocking the company, which is trying to crawl out of that bankruptcy by confining itself to only the 300 most serious business prospects where it can flourish. California is in any not one of them.
It's about par for the state's ruling Democrats. Remember this exchange, when Elon Musk announced that he would be moving his Tesla headquarters and operations to Texas after the state wouldn't end its lockdowns?
According to SFGate.com:
Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirmed Friday that his company’s move to Texas was, in part, inspired by a California lawmaker's incendiary tweet to him.
The tweet in question? “F—k Elon Musk,” from progressive California Assemblywoman Lorena S. Gonzalez.
Remember when Chevron pulled out of the state in 2024?
Newsom was weirdly quiet, although the Wall Street Journal reported that privately, he was in a rage. Seems he considered the pullout a surprise, and of course, a blow to his prestige. But if so, it was a surprise only to him. Chevron's pullout preceded this particular behavior from Newsom, according to the California Globe:
Last year, the governor launched what the Washington Times characterized as a “litigation-and-legislation blitz” to antagonize the fossil fuel industry on behalf of the Democrats’ environmental base, “shoring up his green energy credentials amid criticism that his administration has failed to walk the talk when it comes to ditching fossil fuels.”
“The Democratic governor jumped on the climate lawsuit bandwagon by announcing that California has sued five major energy companies — Exxon, Chevron, BP, ConocoPhillips and Shell,” the Times reported, with Newsom “arguing that their ‘lies and coverups’ about fossil fuels have cost the state billions in damages from natural disasters and increased health care costs.”
“Adding insult to injury,” California Globe Editor Katy Grimes wrote Saturday, “Newsom appointed Tai Milder his ‘Oil Czar,’ to lead the state’s investigation into California’s perpetually high gasoline prices,” which the governor blamed on “price gouging.” Except that the California Energy Commission (CEC) blamed high prices on “refineries temporarily going out of commission because not enough oil was getting to them.”
Way to keep 'em coming back for more, ain't that right, Gav?
It's groteque, bizarre behavior. Normally, when businesses announce plans to pull out, governors, or heads of state for that matter, fall all over themselves to get them to stay. Big companies provide high-income jobs, a huge tax base, and lots of knock-on jobs and growth from little businesses that sell and service them. The only example I've ever seen of a head of state doing the opposite, and mocking and insulting a company for wanting to get out was from Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, who was convinced his oil bounty would last forever, so he didn't need any private sector to try to keep happy, let alone keep at all. In one of his many televised addresses in Venezuela, I remember the abuse he hurled at the beer company Polar when it just wanted price controls for its inputs to end, around 2005.
Now, the Bed & Bath executive chairman tried to help out Newsom by outlining where the problems were.
And all he got were these insults. He told Sean Hannity of Fox News how insane it all was:
Bed Bath & Beyond Executive Chairman Marcus Lemonis pushes back on Gavin Newsom’s attacks after the company announced it will not open any stores in California:
— Sean Hannity ???????? (@seanhannity) August 21, 2025
"Well, I think the thing that was surprising to me was that I tried to articulate, in a non-aggressive way, exactly… pic.twitter.com/Kh6979ACUA
It is insane, it's pure Chavismo, vile and completely unworthy of what the state deserves. It ought to be a harbinger of big changes to come in that horribly run blue state. Something's got to give.
Image: Screen shot from Fox News video via X.