It was Tuesday, and the man poised to be the next governor of California wanted to talk about Donald Trump.
asserted
man → poise → Trump
Xavier Becerra had come to Guelaguetza restaurant in Los Angeles to talk about Trump’s attacks on voting in the state, but instead found himself answering questions about a presidential provocation of a different order.
asserted
himself → come → order
The previous day, Trump had addressed a crowd in Nebraska, and at some point during the nearly two-hour speech the president had suggested, perhaps in jest but with enough specificity to rattle nerves, that Iran might “take out” Los Angeles and San Diego.
uncertain
Iran → address → Angeles
“Life is already tough enough in California,” Becerra, 68, told reporters at the No on Prop 39 campaign event that Tuesday, offering his reaction only after taking questions related to the voter ID ballot measure being pushed by Trump’s allies in the state.
asserted
Becerra → tell → state
“You don’t need to have a president pile on and say, ‘I don’t care about you.
asserted
I → need → you
If you get bombed, who cares?’
asserted
who → bomb → ?
Should Becerra win, as he is all but certain to do in the heavily Democratic state, his first two years in the governor’s office will coincide with the final two years of Trump’s presidency.
asserted
years → win → presidency
Tangling with Trump is hardly new territory for Becerra.
asserted
Tangling → tangle → Becerra
As the state’s attorney general during the president’s first term, he sued the Trump administration more than 100 times.
asserted
he → sue → administration
Trump has spent nearly a decade targeting California, its laws and its leaders.
asserted
Trump → spend → California
But many of the state’s deeper structural challenges predate his political rise.
asserted
many → predate → rise
California remains prohibitively expensive.
asserted
California → remain → ?
Owning a home is out of reach for millions of residents, and for those who do own one, higher wildfire risk makes insurance harder to get – and keep.
asserted
insurance → own → one
Housing, utility and fuel costs run well above the national average.
asserted
costs → run → average
Hollywood is struggling, and residents are increasingly at odds with the tech titans driving the AI boom from the north of the state.
asserted
residents → struggle → state
“All you ever say is ‘Trump, Trump, Trump,’” Becerra’s Republican opponent, Steve Hilton, charged in their sole general election debate.
asserted
opponent → say → debate
“That’s nothing but an insult to every Californian who is desperate for something to change in this state.”
asserted
who → ’ → state
Californians head to the polls in an exceptionally pessimistic mood, according to a new survey by the Public Policy Institute of California.
uncertain
Californians → head → California
More than eight in 10 say the country is headed in the wrong direction, and nearly six in 10 say the same of the state.
asserted
10 → say → state
Just two in 10 Californians approve of Trump’s performance in office – a record low across both terms of his presidency.
asserted
Californians → approve → presidency
That leaves the next governor with the same weighty mandate handed to his predecessor, Gavin Newsom: lead the resistance to Trump’s Washington while delivering relief at home.
asserted
That → leave → home
“It’s going to be a tough political environment for the new governor,” said Mark Baldassare, survey director at the Public Policy Institute of California.
asserted
Baldassare → go → California
“People are feeling a real sense of urgency about the need to do something about affordability, the prices, cost of housing, the cost of energy …
asserted
People → feel → energy
I’m not sure there’s going to be much of a honeymoon.”
asserted
I → ’m → honeymoon
Understated and amiable, Becerra is running on a gauzy promise to restore the “California dream” that allowed the son of Mexican immigrants to blaze a path from a one-room apartment in Sacramento, where he was raised alongside three sisters, to Stanford Law School, the California state assembly and then Congress.
asserted
he → run → School
He was elected to House of Representatives in 1992, at 34,amid a wave of Latino political activism in the state.
asserted
He → elect → state
He served 12 terms as a member of the US House representing central Los Angeles.
asserted
He → serve → Angeles
As a member of House Democratic leadership, he helped draft and pass the Affordable Care Act, the Obama-era law that dramatically expanded access to health insurance coverage.
asserted
that → draft → coverage
After nearly a quarter-century in Washington, Becerra surprised the political establishment on both coasts by returning to Sacramento, the state’s capital, to become the first Latino attorney general of California, succeeding Kamala Harris after she was elected to the US Senate.
asserted
she → surprise → Senate
It put him at the vanguard of California’s clash with Trump.
asserted
It → put → Trump
“While we don’t go looking for a fight, we’re prepared to act when the people, resources and values of California are at stake,” Becerra said at the time, announcing the state’s 100th lawsuit against the Trump administration.
asserted
Becerra → go → administration
In the midst of the surging coronavirus pandemic, Becerra returned to Washington to serve as the nation’s health secretary under Joe Biden.
asserted
Becerra → surge → Biden
Not so long ago, it seemed that his political ascent might end there.
uncertain
ascent → seem → ?
His campaign for governor stalled soon after it launched – first, eclipsed by the prospect of a Kamala Harris run and then overlooked as Democrats searched for seemingly anyone else.
asserted
Democrats → stall → anyone
“When we started this campaign, we were the underdogs,” Becerra said at a rally in Hollywood on the eve of the election.
asserted
Becerra → start → election
Fear began to spread that the party was running out of time to unite behind Newsom’s would-be successor and that the presence of too many Democrats with middling support might allow two Republicans to advance to the general election under the state’s non-partisan primary system.
uncertain
Republicans → begin → system
In short, the party was suggesting that he should drop out.
asserted
he → suggest → ?
Becerra, once described by longtime California political columnist George Skelton as someone who “excels at being in the right place at the right time”, stuck around.
asserted
who → describe → time
When the gubernatorial campaign of Eric Swalwell, the now former California congressman, imploded amid allegations of sexual misconduct, the afterthought became the frontrunner.
asserted
afterthought → implode → misconduct
Becerra spent the rest of the turbulent primary campaign brawling with Tom Steyer, a progressive who backed Medicare for All and higher taxes on ultra-wealthy Californians like himself.
asserted
who → spend → himself
…and 64 more, not listed.
The Aporia
