{"id":2515295,"date":"2025-11-27T18:28:03","date_gmt":"2025-11-27T23:28:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/flashback-newsoms-2020-thanksgiving-rules-should-remind-us-what-true-authoritarianism-looks-like\/"},"modified":"2025-11-27T18:29:35","modified_gmt":"2025-11-27T23:29:35","slug":"flashback-newsoms-2020-thanksgiving-rules-should-remind-us-what-true-authoritarianism-looks-like","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/flashback-newsoms-2020-thanksgiving-rules-should-remind-us-what-true-authoritarianism-looks-like\/","title":{"rendered":"Flashback: Newsom\u2019s 2020 Thanksgiving Rules Should Remind Us What True Authoritarianism Looks Like"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fflashback-newsoms-2020-thanksgiving-rules-should-remind-us-what-true-authoritarianism-looks-like%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2515295&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article criticizes the left&#8217;s portrayal of former President Donald Trump as a dictator, arguing that true examples of government overreach can be seen by looking at California&#8217;s policies in 2020. It highlights how than-Governor Gavin newsom,a potential 2028 Democratic presidential candidate,imposed strict and intrusive restrictions on private Thanksgiving gatherings during the COVID-19 pandemic. Newsom&#8217;s rules limited gatherings to no more than three households, required outdoor settings, imposed a two-hour limit, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/tsa-can-now-fine-you-for-not-masking-up-following-biden-executive-order\/\" title=\"TSA Can Now Fine You For Not Masking Up Following Biden Executive Order\">mandated mask-wearing<\/a> except for brief eating or drinking, enforced physical distancing, and regulated even singing and food serving. The article contends that these measures represented excessive lifestyle control rather than reasonable <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/chicago-loosens-covid-19-restrictions-raising-restaurant-capacity-to-50-percent\/\" title=\"Chicago Loosens COVID-19 Restrictions, Raising Restaurant Capacity to 50 Percent\">health guidance<\/a> and points out the irony that the same political faction condemning Trump&#8217;s alleged authoritarianism supported Newsom&#8217;s stringent rules. Ultimately, it calls for remembering who truly acted like a &#8220;king&#8221; during that time, suggesting it was Newsom, not Trump.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (REP_0)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (REP_1)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>Throughout the year, the left has insisted that President Donald Trump is some kind of dictator.<\/p>\n<p>They chant &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/watch-trump-fires-back-joke-no-kings-protesters\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NO KINGS!<\/a>&rdquo; in the streets and warn that Trump is one executive order away from turning America into a monarchy.<\/p>\n<p>But if Americans want a real example of government overreach, they don&rsquo;t need to look at Trump &mdash; they only need to remember California in 2020.<\/p>\n<p>That was the year Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is arguably the frontrunner for his party&rsquo;s 2028 presidential nomination, decided Thanksgiving belonged to him.<\/p>\n<p>Five years later, as we celebrate the holiday once again, it&rsquo;s worth revisiting exactly what Newsom forced onto the families he governed.<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"stnvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadScript(src) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=src; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.async=true; \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.body.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadScript(\"https:\/\/embed.sendtonews.com\/player3\/embedcode.js?fk=s28Az7AY\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #stnvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#stnvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>Before he rolled out the infamous rules, Newsom <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.ca.gov\/2020\/11\/25\/governor-newsom-issues-proclamation-declaring-thanksgiving-day-11-25-20\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">issued a proclamation<\/a> declaring Thanksgiving Day in California.<\/p>\n<p>It read less like a holiday message and more like a political sermon.<\/p>\n<p>The proclamation highlighted California&rsquo;s &ldquo;Truth and Healing Council&rdquo; and pushed a reframed narrative of American history.<\/p>\n<p>One line captured the tone clearly:<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;As California, through efforts like the Truth and Healing Council, makes progress toward a fuller accounting of our history, we nonetheless take time to celebrate friendship, generosity and resilience today.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>But the <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >real problem <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/saturdays-fun-fraud-facts-seven-unexplainable-results-that-reveal-democrats-didnt-even-try-to-hide-their-fraud\/\" title=\"Saturday&#039;s Fun Fraud Facts: Seven Unexplainable Results that Reveal Democrats Didn&#039;t Even Try to Hide Their Fraud\">wasn&#038;rsquo<\/a><\/a>;t the political language, it was what came next.<\/p>\n<p>On Nov. 22, 2020, Newsom and the California Department of Public Health released &ldquo;new safety guidelines for all private gatherings.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Not <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/dems-lost-all-credibility-on-social-distancing-after-biden-celebrations\/\" title=\"Dems Lost All Credibility On Social Distancing After Biden Celebrations\">public gatherings<\/a>. Not organized events. Private gatherings.<\/p>\n<p>The rules were stunning in their scope.<\/p>\n<p>No more than three households could gather. And every gathering had to be held outdoors. Californians were told to wrap up their Thanksgiving celebration within two hours, Newsweek <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/coronavirus-california-gavin-newsom-new-rules-gatherings-thanksgiving-1541402\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">reported<\/a> at the time.<\/p>\n<p>Guests could enter the house only to use the restroom, and only if it was &ldquo;frequently sanitized.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Masks had to stay on at all times except for brief moments of eating or drinking. Even then, guests had to remain six feet apart from anyone outside their household. Once the bite or sip was finished, masks had to go right back on.<\/p>\n<p>Singing, shouting, and chanting were &ldquo;strongly discouraged.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>If people insisted on doing them, they had to keep their voices at normal speaking volume and wear a face covering.<\/p>\n<p>Even seating arrangements were regulated. Six feet in all directions between households!<\/p>\n<p>Food was to be served in disposable containers. Communal dishes were discouraged. Hand sanitizer needed to be available for constant use.<\/p>\n<p>This was not health guidance. It was lifestyle control.<\/p>\n<p>The same political movement screaming &ldquo;NO KINGS!&rdquo; in 2025 cheered this behavior in 2020.<\/p>\n<p>Nothing Trump has done has ever come close to telling Americans who they could eat with, how long they could sit together, how loudly they could speak, or whether their relatives could play a clarinet.<\/p>\n<p>Five years later, the selective memory is astonishing.<\/p>\n<p>This Thanksgiving, it&rsquo;s worth remembering who actually acted like a king, and it wasn&rsquo;t Trump.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Here is a paraphrased version of the provided excerpt:<\/p>\n<p>Throughout the year, those on the left have repeatedly claimed that President Donald Trump behaves like a dictator. They protest with slogans like &#8220;NO KINGS!&#8221; and caution that Trump is just one executive order away from establishing a monarchy in America. However, if people are seeking a genuine example of government overreach, they don&#8217;t need to focus on Trump-they only need to recall what happened in California in 2020<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2515296,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/newsom-cop30.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[67830,54226,67831,3678,32171],"class_list":["post-2515295","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-2020-thanksgiving","tag-authoritarianism-2","tag-covid-19-restrictions","tag-newsom","tag-political-commentary"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/newsom-cop30.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2515295","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2515295"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2515295\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2515299,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2515295\/revisions\/2515299"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2515296"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2515295"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2515295"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2515295"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}