Gov. Gavin Newsom proudly strutted in front of cameras to celebrate “progress” on the state’s long-troubled high-speed rail project. The problem? After more than a decade of construction and at least $12 billion already burned, there is still no high-speed train. There is no high-speed track. What there is, however, is a governor posing in front of a diesel freight train and calling it a win.
Newsom’s photo-op took place in Kern County, where he touted the completion of a railhead facility, calling it a “critical step” in the track-laying phase. That may sound impressive in a press release, but critics were quick to point out the obvious disconnect between rhetoric and reality. California’s so-called bullet train, once pitched to voters as a sleek, affordable transportation revolution, has metastasized into one of the most expensive infrastructure boondoggles in American history.
“If you want to be big, you’ve got to be big and big things. This is the only high speed rail system of its type anywhere in the United States of America” – Gavin Newsom, speaking as if he was standing in front of a functioning, high speed rail, not a trackless lot in Bakersfield pic.twitter.com/BF93Cmmdnf
— Kevin Dalton (@TheKevinDalton) February 3, 2026
The current Central Valley segment alone is estimated to cost roughly $215 million per mile. Full completion projections now exceed $120 billion beyond what’s already been spent, blowing past original estimates by lightyears. And despite all of that, the project remains years away from carrying a single paying passenger.
Assemblymember Alexandra Macedo, who represents parts of the Central Valley, didn’t mince words. She mocked Newsom for standing in front of a freight train and pretending it symbolized progress. Her verdict was blunt: the project is a money pit, fueled by political vanity and taxpayer dollars, with little to show for it.
Hours after Gavin Newsom celebrated a major made up milestone for California’s criminally over budget and delayed high speed rail, it caught on fire…
Fortunately, no tracks were destroyed in the blaze, but that’s only because none have been laid in 16 years. https://t.co/8saGsfmzns pic.twitter.com/X2HqxMg7Bf
— Kevin Dalton (@TheKevinDalton) February 6, 2026
The mockery didn’t stop there. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy piled on, making clear that federal taxpayers are no longer willing to subsidize California’s experiment in fiscal recklessness. Under the Trump administration, more than $4 billion in federal funding has been pulled from the project, with Duffy bluntly wishing Newsom “best of luck” as California is left holding the bag.
Republicans in Congress, including Rep. Kevin Kiley, have echoed that sentiment, arguing that the rail project has become a textbook case of government overreach, mismanagement, and unchecked spending. Even Florida Sen. Rick Scott weighed in, noting that no amount of smiling or grandstanding can hide the fact that there is simply “no there there.”
What makes this episode more than just another punchline is the broader political context. Despite his record, Newsom is polling as a top-tier contender for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2028. Among Democrats, he is widely seen as a more polished and aggressive alternative to Vice President Kamala Harris, whose public stumbles have become a running joke even within her own party.
That reality should concern voters far beyond California. The high-speed rail fiasco is not an isolated failure; it is a case study in Newsom’s governing style. Big promises. Bigger spending. Minimal results. When pressed, the response is not accountability, but performance — glossy announcements, carefully staged appearances, and a media strategy built on confidence rather than competence.
This is the only high speed rail system of its type anywhere in the United States of America” – Gavin Newsom.
Yeah, the type that has no rails
pic.twitter.com/TXPna7V7XK— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) February 6, 2026
Supporters may argue that infrastructure projects take time. Critics counter that after more than a decade, billions of dollars, and endless revisions, patience has long since run out. Californians were sold a vision. What they got was a photo-op with a freight train and a bill that keeps growing.
Newsom deserves the ridicule he’s receiving, not because mockery is fun — though it often is — but because it exposes a deeper truth. This is the leadership style he would bring to the national stage: flashy optics, staggering costs, and an expectation that voters won’t notice the gap between promise and reality.
