California Gov. Gavin Newsom posted on X on Monday that the state did not accidentally become the world’s fourth-largest economy, calling it a $4.5 trillion powerhouse built by workers, entrepreneurs, and key investments. The message, which echoed a same-day announcement from his office, drew replies questioning the claim. Commenters pointed to high costs and residents leaving California, with several asking why people were still moving out.
The post is a blue map of California with the state bear and the line “Under Governor Newsom, California’s economy tops $4.5 trillion.” The caption says the state “didn’t accidentally become the world’s fourth-largest economy,” and that workers, entrepreneurs, and “key investments and partnerships” made it a $4.5 trillion powerhouse. It ends with, “That’s the California story — and nobody does it like us.”
In the official release, Newsom said, “California didn’t become a $4.5 trillion economy by accident. It happened because working people show up every day and build, grow, manufacture, invent, and move to power this state.”
His office said new federal data put California over $4.5 trillion, the first state to reach that mark, and still the world’s fourth-largest economy. It also said the state grew by nearly $300 billion in the past year, about $76 billion more than Texas, that wages and salaries rose 5.2 percent, and that California has about 11.5 percent of the U.S. population but nearly 14 percent of U.S. GDP.
The office cited a Bloomberg analysis that the state is outpacing other states and developed nations. The graphic does not show household costs, migration, or poverty figures.
Responses to Newsom’s $4.5 Trillion Economy Post
Some users said the total had little to do with the governor. One wrote, “Which literally has nothing to do with Newsom.” Another said, “YOU didn’t make us the #GDP. AI companies did, not the government.”
Kevin Dalton wrote, “Credit the people who stayed and built it. Not the governor who taxed and regulated them toward the exit.”
Others focused on costs and people leaving. One asked, “Then why is everyone leaving?”
One reply agreed the number is real, writing, “The $4.5 trillion is real nominal GDP, and his office is right that it is the largest dollar gain of any state.” The same user still said that total output does not explain gas prices, or why people are moving to Texas, Arizona, and Nevada.
For now, the $4.5 trillion figure has drawn notice from Newsom’s office and economic reports as a sign of California’s output. Online critics, however, remain focused on whether the total reflects life in the state or the credit the governor is taking for workers and companies.
