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California Governor Gavin Newsom is being mocked by conservatives on social media after he told a story about his childhood in which he described his family as having to 'hustle' to pay the bills. In the most recent episode of All The Smoke, a podcast hosted by NBA champions Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson, Newsom said his mother had no money and had to hustle by working 'two and a half jobs.' In a short clip from the episode circulating on social media, Newsom said: 'It was also about paying the bills, man. It was just, like, hustling. And so I was out there just kind of raising myself.' He went on to describe turning on the TV and 'becoming obsessed' while 'sitting there with the Wonder Bread.' Before he could go any further, he was interrupted by Jackson and the rest of the room erupting into laughter. 'Macaroni and cheese - that's how I grew up, bro,' Newsom said before Jackson jokingly responded: 'Are you talking about me?!' The clip drew ire from conservative critics on X who pointed out that the governor's father, William Newsom, worked as a judge and a lawyer for the billionaire Getty family, owners of the American oil marketing company, Getty Oil. Former investment banker and conservative author, John LeFevre, posted the clip to X on Saturday night, where it has already received 4.3 million views. LeFevre retweeted an edited version of the clip posted by another user which showed Newsom wearing an LA Dodgers baseball cap and a large Cuban link gold chain. Another response to the clip read: 'The dude is the most common species in politics - a shape shifting sociopath. He doesn’t even know when he’s lying anymore.' And another said: 'How could anyone watch this dude and find him to be genuine in any capacity? Wonder bread and Mac & cheese? His dad was an appellate court justice who was hooked in with the most influential families in CA?' A San Francisco home where Newsom spent part of his childhood was recently listed for $3.6 million, according to The Press Democrat. It was originally purchased by Newsom's grandfather on his mother's side, so it would have been much more affordable at the time. His mother sold the home in the 1970s. A minority of responses to the clip on social media were in defense of Newsom. One user wrote: 'His father wasn’t in his life, really, until high school,' alongside a screenshot of the governor's Wikipedia page which says his parents divorced in 1971 and his mother was left to raise him 'largely on her own.' Although it is true the Newsom family had close ties to the wealthy and politically connected Getty family, claims that the governor grew up rich are overstated. A spokesperson from Governor Newsom's office told the Daily Mail: 'Anyone with more than an inch of curiosity would know that Governor Newsom was raised by his mother after her divorce from his father when he was a toddler. 'He has talked about moving between two different worlds, but he was raised by a mother who worked three jobs at one point - secretary, waitress, and paralegal.' William Newsom served as the financial advisor for the Getty family business, and he managed the family's trust worth billions. He even helped deliver the ransom money for John Paul Getty III after he was kidnapped in Rome. But that didn't mean the Newsoms were filthy rich. A 2003 article from the San Francisco Chronicle when the now-governor of California was running for mayor of San Francisco said William's highest salary after 17 years in law was $75,000. Additionally, Newsom's parents divorced when he was just three years old and his mother, Tessa, was left to raise him and his younger sister, Hillary. She worked multiple jobs at a time to make ends meet during that period. When Newsom attended Santa Clara University, he did so on student loans and with a partial baseball scholarship. William Newsom began taking a more active role in his son's life when the governor was in high school - something he even alluded to in the viral podcast clip. 'All of a sudden [I] started throwing the baseball a little faster than everyone else... and in high school, I look up in the stands [and] my dad's back up there,' Newsom said. Although Newsom did have a more financially challenging childhood than many of his critics claim, he did also benefit greatly from his family's connections to the Gettys. He founded a wine shop in partnership with Gordon Getty's son, William, who he was childhood friends with. Gordon invested between $7,500 and $15,000 into the business. He also invested a great deal more into Newsom's later business ventures. Gordon said he invested in the first business because he treated Newsom like a son, but the later investments were due to his success with the first one. The Gettys and other well-connected California families also helped Newsom with his political career by donating to his campaigns when we was an unknown candidate, which eventually helped the governor rise to the national prominence he enjoys today.
