Gavin Newsom has ripped into Donald Trump after it was found that the United States has hit an embarrassing new record.
The president's State of the Union address may have broken the record for the longest speech of its type, but the Governor of California's Press Office observed another poor statistic that has happened on Trump's watch. A post to X from the Governor Newsom Press Office account highlighted the dwindling number of Americans remaining in the US.
Newsom's team wrote, "WOW. Americans are leaving the USA in record numbers! Under Trump, the American Dream is DEAD!" A screenshot of the Wall Street Journal's coverage is attached to the post from Newsom's team.
The feature, which notes the record numbers and reasons for so many US citizens leaving for below the border, former Stalinist states, and wider parts of Europe. The move has been dubbed the "Donald Dash", though the WSJ notes the rise has been ongoing for some time.
Drew Hinshaw and Joe Parkinson wrote, "Some commentators have labeled this wave of American emigrants the 'Donald Dash' since numbers have spiked under President Trump’s second term. But the phenomenon has been building for years—fed by the rise of remote work, mounting living costs and an appetite for foreign lifestyles that feel within reach, especially in Europe.
"The U.S. saw 675,000 deportations and 2.2 million 'self-deportations' last year, according to data from the Department of Homeland Security.
"A Wall Street Journal analysis of 15 countries providing full or partial 2025 data showed that at least 180,000 Americans joined them—a number likely to be far higher when other countries report full statistics."
Further analysis found some applications for European VISAs, particularly those to Britain, are at their highest in over 20 years.
"If there was any thought that this was a fleeting pandemic-era experiment of laptop nomads logging in from distant shores, data hints at its longevity," the pair wrote. "The U.S. government has a months-long backlog of Americans asking to renounce their citizenship, either to secure a foreign passport or to avoid taxation of their earnings abroad.
"In 2024, requests jumped 48% and likely outpaced that in 2025, immigration firms say. Americans are applying for British citizenship at the highest rate since records began in 2004: some 6,600 in the year to March 2025. They are securing Irish passports at a record pace: 31,825 in 2024, and an estimated 40,000 last year."
WOW. Americans are leaving the USA in record numbers!
Under Trump, the American Dream is DEAD! pic.twitter.com/be18splY1W
— Governor Newsom Press Office (@GovPressOffice) February 26, 2026
