Photo Op Goes Bad for Newsom as Clueless Officials Also Disgrace American Flag

It was a surprise to many that Gov. Gavin Newsom didn’t show up at a photo op event commemorating the start of federal debris removal in the wake of the California wildfires. Maybe it shouldn’t have been, once news of the photo op — and photos of what was being done with the American flag — got out.

In a series of videos and photos, Joel Pollak, senior editor at large for Breitbart and a resident of Southern California, showed both the American flag and Californian flag flying from, as he noted, curiously clean construction equipment on freshly swept roadways.

Pollak said, he’d received word that Newsom was scheduled to be at the event in Pacific Palisades, his neighborhood, “to take credit for a federal fire relief operation that belongs to President Trump,” Breitbart News said in a post.

Joel Pollak, Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News, reported he had received intel that Gavin Newsom was staging a photo-op in his neighborhood in the Pacific Palisades to take credit for a federal fire relief operation that belongs to President Trump. pic.twitter.com/4wOq3EKqJC

— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) February 11, 2025

Pollak went on to note that “residents still have questions about the state’s poor preparation” to fight the wildfires and why Newsom would be taking credit for what the federal government was doing.

However, as you may notice, both Old Glory and the California standard are hanging from the arms of the backhoes — which, as Pollak noted in another post, were spotless.

.@GavinNewsom is staging a photo-op in my neighborhood to mark to start of (federal) debris removal. (The state doesn’t have much to do with it.) You can see the dramatic flags with the ruins of homes as a backdrop. Shiny, gleaming construction equipment! Freshly swept roadways! https://t.co/0UxMaLk8kl pic.twitter.com/oIsp6ENdFw

— Joel Pollak (@joelpollak) February 11, 2025

Newsom, as it turns out, didn’t show in Pacific Palisades, but instead in Altadena, another fire-ravaged area, bragging about the “unprecedented” speed of cleanup and recovery efforts and thanking local and state officials for their work in getting that done, according to KTTV.

“All of this is happening concurrently. It’s not just 30 days and then we begin the next phase. It’s not just that next phase and then after six months, nine months or a year, then we begin construction. All of this is happening concurrently. It’s happening at the same time,” Newsom said during the Tuesday morning media briefing.

It’s worth noting that Newsom was expected by the media to be in Pacific Palisades — although perhaps it’s not a surprise he chose Altadena instead after Pollak got wind of the stunt.

The Governor was in Altadena this morning, and is currently meeting with community leaders, as was planned…

— Brandon Richards 🐻 (@BrandonRichards) February 11, 2025

For one thing, Altadena was damaged by the Eaton Fire, which was separate from the Palisades Fire; while nobody in the Golden State acquitted themselves well during the wildfires, the Palisades Fire was much more damaging and raised far more questions about preparedness.

And second — well, look at those flags, specifically the American one.

I’m shocked this needs to be pointed out, but apparently patriotism and respect for the American flag are out of fashion these days, so from the Department of Defense’s website about proper flag display protocol:

• “The flag should never touch anything beneath it; this includes water, merchandise and even the floor.”
• “The U.S. flag should flow freely in the wind or in a lobby with a passing breeze as people walk past. Stretching a flag is a lot like walking around with your arms held out straight. It is not to be held captive by metal arm spreaders as if to say, ‘Look at me!’”

Put in a position where it could touch the street? Check.

Strapped down while hanging from the backhoe’s arm? Certainly looks like it.

The first is more obviously true — and also a more obvious and grave violation of flag protocol — than the second, but both appear to have been breached.

Now, ask yourself this question: Which is more likely to make this mistake — Trump’s federal government, who put this event on, or people associated with Gov. Newsom and his coterie?

Ask yourself another question: When this began going viral, what do you think the odds are that the people carefully grooming Newsom for a 2028 run realized it might be better for him to appear at a different event than be seen in what could end up being, for all intents and purposes, his version of Michael Dukakis riding in a tank when he tries painting himself as a man for all Americans, not just some West Coast liberal?

I’m not saying that’s what happened. But if you think the chances are nonzero, particularly given that “California progressive” has the market value, in most swing states, of “200k-mile Yugo,” you’re either a supremely credulous Democrat or this whole “politics” thing is new to you.

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