Newsom blames Trump for housing costs; chart shows rise under Biden
California governor's social media post drew criticism for its timing and data interpretation.
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
Meme screenshot
Photograph: Twitchy (embedded from source)
What this story says
- California Governor Gavin Newsom shared a chart on X suggesting former President Donald Trump was responsible for high housing costs.
- The chart Newsom posted showed the income required for a median-priced home increasing significantly between 2005 and 2026.
- Critics noted that the steepest rise in housing costs depicted on the chart occurred between 2021 and 2024, during President Joe Biden's term.
- Some reports also linked California's housing crisis to state policies and Democratic control in Sacramento.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 8 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. Coverage measured .
Trust
42/100
Craft
65/100
Hype
68/100
8 sources · methodology
Thin on the left so far
None of the 8 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated left.
This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.
California Governor Gavin Newsom posted a chart on his X account that he stated blamed former President Donald Trump for high housing costs. The graphic illustrated the income needed to qualify for a median-priced home, showing a substantial increase from 2005 to 2026.
Newsom's post drew immediate criticism, with several users and outlets pointing out that the most significant portion of the income increase shown on the chart occurred between 2021 and 2024. This period falls within President Joe Biden's administration.
Disagreement on the chart's timeline
Fox News reported that while the chart reached its highest level during Trump's second administration, the most substantial increase was between 2021 and 2024, under Biden. Regionalmedianews.com stated that the most dramatic increase shown on the graph occurs during the years of the Biden administration. Nemos News Network and Zero Hedge, citing PJ Media, noted that the chart Newsom shared showed the housing price increase occurred during the Biden administration. Twitchy reported that Newsom tried to pin high housing costs on Trump but instead highlighted Biden. WFMD.com stated the chart Newsom shared shows prices skyrocketed under the Biden administration.
What the coverage left out
No left- or centre-rated outlet reported on this story. The reports that did cover the story did not mention any specific housing policies enacted by the Newsom administration or the California legislature that may have contributed to housing costs.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 4 times, most recently on 17 Sept 2026, 01:45, and will add the sides that appear.
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
0 rated outlets
No outlet rated left has run this story so far. We are still checking, and will say plainly if that does not change.
Centre
0 rated outlets
No outlet rated centre has run this story so far. We are still checking, and will say plainly if that does not change.
Right
8 rated outlets
- Right-rated reports focused on the criticism directed at Governor Newsom for his social media post. Multiple outlets, including Fox News, Regionalmedianews.com, Nemos News Network, Zero Hedge, and PJ Media, highlighted that the chart Newsom used to blame Trump actually showed the most significant increase in housing costs occurring during the Biden administration. Fox News quoted X users and a White House spokesperson who pointed out this discrepancy. Regionalmedianews.com also noted that Republicans contend the Biden administration's immigration policies added pressure to housing markets. Several right-rated outlets, such as Nemos News Network, Zero Hedge, and PJ Media, used headlines stating that Democrats do not know how to read charts. Twitchy's headline stated Newsom "KO'd Biden Instead" with his post. Regionalmedianews.com also mentioned Newsom's public discussions of his dyslexia as a point of criticism regarding his political messaging.
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover Newsom blames Trump for housing costs; chart shows rise under Biden?
- Of the 8 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 0% are rated left, 0% are rated centre, 100% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is Newsom blames Trump for housing costs; chart shows rise under Biden left or right?
- Too few of the outlets on this story carry a published leaning rating to say. 8 of them do, and this site does not characterise a field under 12: at that size one newsroom filing moves the share by ten points. The percentages above are the count as it stands.
- Is the coverage of Newsom blames Trump for housing costs; chart shows rise under Biden biased?
- Newsom blames Trump for housing costs; chart shows rise under Biden is one event reported by 8 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which side is not reporting Newsom blames Trump for housing costs; chart shows rise under Biden?
- When we first saw this story, outlets rated left had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
- Which outlets covered Newsom blames Trump for housing costs; chart shows rise under Biden?
- 8 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- What did Gavin Newsom post on X?
- California Governor Gavin Newsom shared a chart on X that he used to blame former President Donald Trump for high housing costs. The chart illustrated the income needed to qualify for a median-priced home between 2005 and 2026.
- What was the criticism of Newsom's post?
- Critics pointed out that the most substantial increase in housing costs shown on the chart occurred between 2021 and 2024, during President Joe Biden's administration, rather than during Trump's presidency.
- Which outlets covered this story?
- Eight outlets covered this story, all of which were rated as right-leaning. No left- or centre-rated outlets reported on the event.
Read it at the source
8 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
Centre
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
Right
8- Gavin Newsom blames Trump for housing costs using chart showing massive increase under Biden (opens wfmd.com in a new tab)
- Gavin Newsom blames Trump for housing costs using chart showing massive increase under Biden (opens democraticaccent.com in a new tab)
democraticaccent.com — is democraticaccent.com biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Gavin Newsom blames Trump for housing costs using chart showing massive increase under Biden (opens Fox News in a new tab)
- Democrats Still Don’t Know How To Read Charts (opens Nemos News Network in a new tab)
Nemos News Network — is Nemos News Network biased? Our profile of this outletOpinion
- Gavin Newsom Unsucessfully Tries To Blame President Trump for Home Prices (opens regionalmedianews.com in a new tab)
regionalmedianews.com — is regionalmedianews.com biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Democrats Still Don't Know How To Read Charts (opens Zero Hedge in a new tab)
Zero Hedge — is Zero Hedge biased? Our profile of this outletOpinion
- WHOOPS! Gavin Newsom Tried to Pin High Housing Costs on Trump and KO'd Biden Instead (opens Twitchy in a new tab)
- Democrats Still Don’t Know How to Read Charts (opens PJ Media in a new tab)
PJ Media — is PJ Media biased? Our profile of this outletOpinion
Not rated
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
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