California Gov. Gavin Newsom drew sharp criticism this week after blaming President Donald Trump for the nation's housing affordability crisis while sharing a chart that shows the steepest increase in home costs occurred during the Biden administration.
In a post on his X account, Newsom, a potential 2028 presidential candidate, shared a message reporting that U.S. homes are «now the most unaffordable in history,» along with a graph tracking the income needed to qualify for a median-priced home from 2005 to 2026. The chart reaches its highest point during Trump's second term, but it also shows a substantial rise between 2021 and 2024, when former President Joe Biden was in office.
«Great work, @realDonaldTrump!» Newsom wrote in the post, which quickly drew responses from users who pointed out the apparent mismatch between his caption and the data displayed.
«Hey @GavinNewsom, who was president during the biggest uptick in home unaffordability?» the Libs of TikTok account asked. Meteorologist Chris Martz wrote, «Evidently, @GavinNewsom doesn't know how to read graphs. Housing prices skyrocketed under Joe Biden's presidency.»
OutKick writer Ian Miller commented that California is «the most unaffordable state in the country to buy a house, and it's only gotten worse since Gavin Newsom took over,» adding that no one in the media would call him out for the statement. California Post opinion editor Joel Pollak wrote, «You would be ashamed if they broke it down by state.»
Actor Doug Davidson said, «Gavin, I guess you can't read a graph. The biggest spike was before DJT took office.» Author Jens Heycke joked that Newsom, as an aspiring presidential candidate, had demonstrated an inability to read a simple graph, calling the level of numeric and economic illiteracy «disqualifying.»
Other users compared Newsom's post to a since-deleted message from the official Democratic Party account that featured a graph claiming «U.S. Grocery Prices Reached Record Highs in 2025» with prices «higher today than they were on July 2024» in categories such as dairy, produce and meat. At the time, users noted that the graph actually showed prices skyrocketing in 2021, when Biden was president, and only leveling off at the end of 2024 when Trump was re-elected.
The episode unfolded as Newsom has been working to address housing affordability in his own state. In 2025, he signed into law a housing package that exempts certain projects from the California Environmental Quality Act and streamlines environmental review for qualifying housing and infrastructure development. In July, he signed additional housing affordability reforms focused on streamlining affordable-housing financing and project reviews.
The White House pushed back on Newsom's criticism. Spokesperson Davis Ingle told Fox News Digital that Trump is more «laser-focused» on affordability than the «incompetent» Newsom. «Unlike incompetent Governor Gavin Newscum, President Trump has been laser-focused on making housing more affordable,» Ingle said.
Ingle pointed to an executive order prohibiting large Wall Street firms from purchasing single-family homes, a directive for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to purchase $200 billion in mortgage bonds that helped drive rates to four-year lows, and efforts to cut unnecessary red tape to boost supply, speed construction and lower costs.
«The president will not stop fighting until the American dream of homeownership is within reach for every American, which is why he continues to sign bold new executive orders and calls on Congress to pass further legislation,» Ingle said.
Newsom's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The exchange highlights the intensifying political battle over housing costs, an issue that has become a central concern for voters across the country as affordability remains a persistent challenge for would-be homebuyers.