A grim new report foundCalifornia lost more than 50,000 residents last year, leaving Gov. Gavin Newsom and state officials talking out of both sides of their mouths on which direction the state is headed.
On Friday, the state’s Department of Finance issueda defensive press releaseblaming a “full year of restrictive federal policy changes” on legal international migration, which slashed California’s population growth by more than half. The agency dismissed the loss of tens of thousands of people as a “slight” population drop that represented less than one-seventh of 1%.
But on Friday evening,Newsom appeared on HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher”and claimed the state is actually growing.
THIS CLIP TRIGGERED DONALD TRUMP’S LATEST TRUTH SOCIAL MELTDOWN!pic.twitter.com/sSfp29iBMN
“We’ve also seen the last three year population growth — we’ve got to update our talking points,” Newsom told Maher.
Critics of California’s governor were quick to rip Newsom for what they’re calling a coordinated effort to deflect blame.
Steve Hilton, a former Fox News host and leading Republican candidate for governor, tore into the governor’s HBO appearance.
“This shows that Newsom was blatantly lying to Bill Maher on Friday night, when he claimed California’s population was actually increasing,” Hilton said. “His own statistics show the opposite!”
Legal international migration plunged from 248,400 people in 2024 — the highest level since 2018 — to just 126,400 in 2025, a drop of more than 50%, according to the state’s Department of Finance.
State officials stressed that absent federal policy changes on immigration, California’s population would have actually grown by 66,000 people.
Source: California Post – Breaking California News, Photos & Videos
