All of a sudden, Gavin Newsom decided that now was the time — during his unofficial presidential non-campaign — to tackle "affordability." Did he offer to lower gas taxes, or temporarily get rid of them, as President Donald Trump just did with federal gas taxes? No. Did he announce a moratorium on taxes in general? No. Did he announce a full investigation into the unfettered fraud being perpetrated in the Medicaid and MediCal programs in his state? No. Did he crack down on all those Somali pirated funds stolen from the public treasury? No. Has the California governor used what was once his robust political capital to attack systemic affordability problems? No.
Instead, the California governor chose, as the centerpiece of his very serious presidential gambit, to give away "free" diapers to new parents in some hospitals in limited parts of the state, in the name of affordability. What an interesting choice.
Diapers don't actually come to mind when thinking about day-to-day affordability issues for Californians. It's not that I'm deaf to the concerns of parents — goodness knows I've purchased and changed hundreds, if not thousands, of diapers in California. It's just that diapers are not top of mind. What attacks affordability best is reducing gas prices, which makes everything at the store cheaper. The governor, however, is busy scaring away oil and gas refineries and gas stations, resulting in higher gas prices in the name of global warming. He can't tout his record on this because it makes him look silly and unserious. Hey, how's that solar complex near the border with Nevada going, anyway? It's closing — that's how it's going. Great job, Gavin.
So diapers it is!
From Gavin's PR handlers:
California families welcoming newborns will soon receive hundreds of free diapers before leaving the hospital under a first-in-the-nation program announced Friday by Gov. Gavin Newsom.
During the program's first year, it will be offered at about 65 to 75 hospitals that handle about a quarter of births in the state and largely serve low-income patients, Newsom's office said. The initiative will expand to more hospitals statewide, though the governor's office did not say how many. The state has partnered with nonprofit Baby2Baby to manufacture the diapers under the label "Golden State Start."
Newsom is spending California tax funds by bankrolling a non-governmental agency (NGO) that gives out free diapers. And, wouldn’t you know it? The program scheme itself appears to be full of poop — and I mean that stinky, slightly yellow mash that looks like those bags of baby food.
It looks cozy.
Before we get to that, let’s start with the program itself. We get some answers from the man who runs Cal DOGE and gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton. Hilton went shopping at Target and revealed that the state program's "free" diapers are more expensive than those you can find at the store. He called it "bull***t."
How much are diapers at Target compared to Gavin Newsom's government diapers paid for by YOUR taxes?
— Steve Hilton (@SteveHiltonx) May 10, 2026
We went to take a look: pic.twitter.com/iahLUbm1Fm
Did you know that the Baby2Baby organization is run by a woman who sits on Newsom’s wife’s state-backed “Partner’s Project” and just received a $20 million grant to give out “free” diapers that cost more than the ones on the shelf?
And they’re made in Mexico. Of course. pic.twitter.com/TUrvuX6gmV
— GraceUnderPressure (@ExitStageRite) May 8, 2026
Baby2Baby might be a fine organization run by the governor’s wife’s friend, who makes $240,000 a year and who got this $20,000,000.00 grant to make state-sponsored diapers in Mexico that cost more to produce than commercial ones on American retail store shelves. And no one’s arguing that her intentions aren’t good. What isn’t good, however, is that it appears the fix is in for their friends. There are cheaper diapers at the store and diaper banks are out there, after all. They’re like food banks for diapers.
It all looks so cozy and grift-y in California.
Though Newsom didn’t personally dole out the money for FireAid, the Annenberg Foundation did. It gave out most of the $100 million to NGOs, many of which had nothing to do with, uh, aiding fire victims. NGOs like CORE and Baby2Baby. There's that name again.
Baby2Baby got FireAid money too.
— Victoria Taft, The Adult in the Room, FITF Squad (@VictoriaTaft) May 11, 2026
Sorry, LA Fire Victims, the NGO Borg Ate Your FireAid Moneyhttps://t.co/7jXunaAczh
Baby2Baby was in the very first tranche of NGOs getting $100,000 each of FireAid money.
Because when I think of fire victims who need housing, I think of diapers.
And when I think of free state-subsidized diapers, I think of Steve Hilton’s eight-letter characterization of the program.
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