In First State Of The State, Gov. Gavin Newsom To Voice California’s Resistance To President Trump

Update: Listen to Gov. Gavin Newsom's first State of the State address and read an annotated transcript here. And check out former governors Jerry Brown’s and Arnold Schwarzenegger’s State of the State addresses here.

Gov. Gavin Newsom will deliver his first State of the State address Tuesday morning to a joint session of the California Legislature.

He’s expected to once again position California as leading the resistance to President Trump, criticizing last week’s State of the Union address for portraying “a vision of an America fundamentally at odds with California values.”

The president “described a country where inequality didn’t seem to be a problem, where climate change doesn’t exist, and where the greatest threat we face comes from families at the border, seeking asylum from violence-stricken countries,” the governor will say, according to advance excerpts released by his office.

Newsom will also likely make the case for the priorities he laid out in his budget proposal last month, including universal preschool and universal health care.

The governor didn’t exactly play up expectations about his big speech when he spoke with reporters last week. “No one’s excited about States of the State,” he joked to reporters after settling his Super Bowl bet with Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker by serving meals to homeless people in Sacramento wearing a Tom Brady jersey.

“I mean, we all act like we’re excited. But let’s be honest about it. So, you know, I know my place,” he added. “And they’re not necessarily the most memorable moments in our lives. So forgive me in advance, all right?”

But it’s been six very eventful weeks since Newsom was sworn in as California’s 40th governor on January 7. He’s rolled out major budget proposals on early childhood education, health care and homelessness. He’s also had to respond to the federal government shutdown and the bankruptcy filing of the state’s largest utility, PG&E.

And on Monday, he ordered an end to the deployment of most of the California National Guard troops at the Mexican border.

Former governors Jerry Brown and Arnold Schwarzenegger’s State of the State addresses averaged just over 20 minutes. Newsom is expected to go longer. Much longer.

After all, as mayor of San Francisco, he once posted a seven-and-a-half hour State of the City speech to YouTube: in 10 chapters of 45 minutes each.