Newsom’s Memoir Shows the Insecurity of Growing Up Next to Immense Privilege Was Prep for Politics

We've already called out The Atlantic once today for Tom Nichols' piece on how, since President Donald Trump's reelection, Republicans "have deployed ever more Nazi imagery and rhetoric, and espoused ideas associated with the Nazi Party."

The Atlantic's Helen Lewis has allegedly read Gov. Gavin Newsom's memoir and concluded that knowing that being adjacent to immense privilege could be taken away at any moment made him insecure, and that insecurity is great preparation for a 2028 run.

Gavin Newsom’s “Young Man in a Hurry” is a memoir about growing up next to immense privilege while knowing that it could be taken away at any moment—and this insecurity might be the perfect preparation for American politics, @helenlewis argues: https://t.co/XroxBqSQmd
— The Atlantic (@TheAtlantic) February 24, 2026

Lewis writes:

In Dreams From My Father, Obama’s sense of outsiderishness comes from his skin color, which made him an oddity in Hawaii and Harvard. Young Man in a Hurry substitutes status anxiety for race. This is a memoir about growing up next to immense privilege, thanks to the Newsom family’s friendship with the oil-rich Gettys, while knowing that it could be taken away at any moment. This insecurity might be the perfect preparation for American politics, where navigating relationships with big-money donors without letting them own you is an essential skill.
…
In his description of the Gettys, Newsom reminds me of Tom Wambsgans, of HBO’s Succession, who marries into the powerful Roy family and only narrowly dodges being made the fall guy for a corporate scandal, because a son-in-law is not as important as a son. There’s also an echo of the Prince Harry of Spare, who realizes that the British royal family will always choose to protect his brother, the future king, over him.

Gavin is trying to convince everyone his silver spoon life was actually simply "silver plated" and he had to fight the stigma of having to live the silver spoon lie that tore him apart inside because it prevented him from hanging out with "lesser" people.
— Erick Robertson (@PorkchopSAR) February 24, 2026

I’m waiting for him tell the tale of how in his inspiration for Plump Jack Estate Winery in the Napa Valley was born from his love of grape drink as an child growing up in Compton.
— Rick Pereria (@RickPereria) February 24, 2026

"The dominant colors of this memoir are black and gold. Black for the Getty oil, but also the intense darkness of Newsom’s family background," Lewis writes.

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