(Image Credit: San Francisco Art Commision)
Sacramento, California – California Governor Gavin Newsom has denied allegations that he secretly helped fund a nearly $100,000 bronze bust of himself that sits inside San Francisco City Hall, dismissing the claims as “categorically false.”
A new book, Fool’s Gold: The Radicals, Con Artists, and Traitors Who Killed the California Dream and Now Threaten Us All, by Susan Crabtree and Jedd McFatter, claims that Newsom used “behested payments”—contributions from donors solicited by politicians—to help finance the statue. The book alleges that two companies linked to Newsom donated approximately $10,000 to a nonprofit that contributed to the bust, which commemorates his tenure as mayor of San Francisco from 2004 to 2011.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Newsom’s spokesperson pushed back against the accusations. “To imply the Governor personally funded or proposed this effort is categorically false,” the statement read. “As is customary in the city, the effort was independently proposed by a nonprofit and funded by private donors—not taxpayers… This was reported at the time and isn’t news now.”
The governor’s office further emphasized that any financial contributions made by businesses associated with Newsom were publicly disclosed. “Businesses tied to the Newsom family made a modest contribution to the privately funded initiative and raised funds for the effort as reported publicly at the time,” the statement continued. “The contributions were not in any way ‘secret’ as falsely claimed by some now.”
The bronze bust, mounted on a black granite base, was completed in 2018 and now stands alongside statues of other former San Francisco mayors, including Willie Brown, Dianne Feinstein, and George Moscone.
Newsom previously addressed the project in 2015 when it was first announced, calling the bust a “strange thing.” In an interview with SFGate, he admitted feeling “awkward about it” and stated he had no knowledge of the individuals behind the fundraising efforts. However, he did confirm that he sat multiple times for artist Bruce Wolfe, who sculpted the piece.
The San Francisco Arts Commission has also confirmed that the bust was privately funded and includes a bronze plaque bearing a quote from Newsom:
“If you distill the essence of everything, what life is about, every single one of us is given a short moment in time on this planet and we all have one universal need and desire, and that is to love and be loved.”
Despite Newsom’s dismissal of the book’s claims, Crabtree, one of the authors of Fool’s Gold, stood by her reporting, telling Fox News Digital that the book never alleges Newsom personally organized the bust project.
“Team Newsom is afraid of the shocking revelations in Fool’s Gold—which is backed by more than forty-five pages of endnotes containing more than 1,000 open-source reputable and verifiable citations with zero anonymous sources—and that is why they are trying to smear this book,” Crabtree said.
Newsom’s office responded with a sharp rebuke, mocking the book’s credibility. “This publication should come with a free tinfoil hat, a lifetime subscription to InfoWars, and a VIP dinner with Elvis Presley and Bigfoot,” his team said. “The authors seem allergic to basic facts—especially the kind you can confirm with a 10-second Google search, like how many children the Governor has.”
The resurfaced controversy has sparked criticism from some social media users, with many ridiculing the idea of a sitting politician having a statue of himself erected.
“Who commissions a bust of themself? Gavin Newsom, who clearly thinks very highly of himself,” one user on X wrote. “That’s just kind of sick from a politician’s head. Look at me and see how great I am!”
Another user sarcastically compared the bust to Newsom’s leadership: “Gavin Newsom’s new bust is the perfect symbol of his time as governor—expensive and ultimately useless for the people of California.”
While the book’s claims remain contested, the controversy surrounding the bronze bust underscores the polarizing nature of Newsom’s political career. As a prominent Democratic figure and a potential contender for the 2028 presidential race, his legacy—both literal and figurative—continues to fuel debate.
