Throughout the year, the left has insisted that President Donald Trump is some kind of dictator.
They chant “NO KINGS!” in the streets and warn that Trump is one executive order away from turning America into a monarchy.
But if Americans want a real example of government overreach, they don’t need to look at Trump — they only need to remember California in 2020.
That was the year Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is arguably the frontrunner for his party’s 2028 presidential nomination, decided Thanksgiving belonged to him.
Five years later, as we celebrate the holiday once again, it’s worth revisiting exactly what Newsom forced onto the families he governed.
Before he rolled out the infamous rules, Newsom issued a proclamation declaring Thanksgiving Day in California.
It read less like a holiday message and more like a political sermon.
The proclamation highlighted California’s “Truth and Healing Council” and pushed a reframed narrative of American history.
One line captured the tone clearly:
“As California, through efforts like the Truth and Healing Council, makes progress toward a fuller accounting of our history, we nonetheless take time to celebrate friendship, generosity and resilience today.”
But the real problem wasn’t the political language, it was what came next.
On Nov. 22, 2020, Newsom and the California Department of Public Health released “new safety guidelines for all private gatherings.”
Not public gatherings. Not organized events. Private gatherings.
The rules were stunning in their scope.
No more than three households could gather. And every gathering had to be held outdoors. Californians were told to wrap up their Thanksgiving celebration within two hours, Newsweek reported at the time.
Guests could enter the house only to use the restroom, and only if it was “frequently sanitized.”
Masks had to stay on at all times except for brief moments of eating or drinking. Even then, guests had to remain six feet apart from anyone outside their household. Once the bite or sip was finished, masks had to go right back on.
Singing, shouting, and chanting were “strongly discouraged.”
If people insisted on doing them, they had to keep their voices at normal speaking volume and wear a face covering.
Even seating arrangements were regulated. Six feet in all directions between households!
Food was to be served in disposable containers. Communal dishes were discouraged. Hand sanitizer needed to be available for constant use.
This was not health guidance. It was lifestyle control.
The same political movement screaming “NO KINGS!” in 2025 cheered this behavior in 2020.
Nothing Trump has done has ever come close to telling Americans who they could eat with, how long they could sit together, how loudly they could speak, or whether their relatives could play a clarinet.
Five years later, the selective memory is astonishing.
This Thanksgiving, it’s worth remembering who actually acted like a king, and it wasn’t Trump.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
The post Flashback: Newsom’s 2020 Thanksgiving Rules Should Remind Us What True Authoritarianism Looks Like appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.