Says Gavin Newsom — yes, he still has a podcast — addressing Trump's plan/"plan" to turn Alcatraz back into a prison, in "And, This is Escape From Alcatraz" (Podscribe, transcript + audio).
May 8, 2025
"Everybody, don't worry about it. Don't panic. You're gonna be on that island as a tourist for decades and decades to come."
"I mean, you gotta be kidding me. This is going nowhere. This is distraction day in the United States of America."
"A million plus people, I think it's 1.2 million last year came to Alcatraz and the island. I think the Park service that runs it generates $60 million a year in revenue. Back to my Doge point, this would cost tens of millions of dollars. You have to bring people onto the island, the workforce and everything else. [Trump] specifically directed his Department of Justice and, and he directed Secretary Burgum to start to put together a plan of action on this. I mean, I pray that they're focused on other things and not focused on the folly of this latest distraction...."
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43 comments:
Californians should be targeting the rejection of Gavy Newscum and everything he represents.
If I was Gavin I also would wish to distract Californians from his failed "bullet train" and highest-in-the-nation gas prices, not to mention rolling blackouts, lack og housing, horrendous responses to disasters (especially fires), inability to open Highway 1 in big Sur almost 3 YEARS after a mudslide blocked 100 yards of it...
The could go on but I'm tired of rehearsing his record of failure. It's why I'm a Florida man now.
Ack! "The LIST could go on but..."
Also, NOBODY, and I mean literally NOBODY, is "panicking" about Trump's announcement.
Perhaps don't let in 11-20 million illegals - and then use OUR tax dollars without OUR permission - to pay for them.
Meanwhile CA’s gas refining capacity is being reduced by over 20% because Newsom’s policies are driving by the refiners out. Gas may go up to $8 a gallon. That’s what he’s trying to distract us Californians from.
This just in 'prisons cost money'.
You can have a lot of fun with a laser pointer and a cat.
Regardless of other criticisms of California (and Newsom), this is a damned stupid, expensive idea. Toss it on the same trash heap as "annex Canada."
Decades ago - I had an opportunity to do the alcatraz tour. I passed.
No regrets.
Who cares?
Make good use of the left's F-ups.
Newsom doesn't know the difference between revenue and profit.
chuck (not that Chuck) gets it.
A better tour-- The San Fransisco zombie transient poo and pee smell walking tour - held hourly at Civic Center/UN Station.
He talks with Jon Voight, and then decides he has to save Hollywood with tariffs.
He must have just watched the Bird Man of Alcatraz.
There is no serious thought going on behind the president’s action. I'll say this for Trump's plan to reopen Alcatraz as a prison:
It would probably easier to do that than it will be to restore the United States economy after four years of a second Trump term.
It's too ridiculously expensive to do, but Trump loves symbolism. He might think that at this moment in U.S. history the symbolism of restoring order is worth more than the financial cost.
kaKAW! kaKAW!! kaKAWWWwwww!!!
I’m not merely in favor of reopening Alcatraz, I’m in favor of Gavin Newsom and Karen Bass being its first two inmates.
Yes. With a ZipLine for tourists from the south tower of the Golden Gate Bridge.
Trump is a genius.
BTW, isn’t that island federal property? Why does Newsom think he has any say in what the federal government does with its property?
As an increasingly regretful resident of California, I’m astounded by the amount of national attention Newsom gets. His record in office is abysmal and would be considerred laughably disqualifying if he looked like Jerry Nadler.
I tried unsuccessfully (via Google) to find out how much it currently costs to operate Alcatraz as a tourist facility. The only numbers discussed were the $60 Million revenue figure and the estimated costs to restore it as a prison back when it closed.
Our reporting profession is in a very sad place. The questions that should be asked--
a) Is Alcatraz currently profitable or break-even as a tourism facility?
b) If the government is making $60 million a year (they are not) on Alcatraz, are tourists being gouged?
c) What does it generally cost to operate a prison facility?
d) Does it make sense to make it a prison for symbolic/political purposes, as Trump proposes? (I assume that Gitmo doesn't operate at a profit)?
don't get asked or even considered. Perhaps that is on Trump, but I would expect even a minimally competent reporter to look into this.
Alcatraz is open. It's open as a tourist attraction. People love taking the boat ride out there and getting in to see the place. They PAY for the privilege. Why take that away from the people and replace something that earns a lot of easy money with a place that costs a stupid amount of money? Think DOGE.
I propose Gavin re-directs his high-speed rail to make a tourist stop at Alcatraz, then all parties would be satisfied.
Use it as a federal showcase that will house all of the “elite leadership”… namely politicians and bureaucrats that have been raiding the treasury, committing fraud and breaking other laws.
A lot more people would visit and they'd pay even more for the privilege if they could file past Hillary's cell. It wouldn't have to be spruced up very much. Folks would like it better if it stayed old school.
As an added attraction, they could see Fauci hanging by his thumbs during business hours six days a week. Kids could push him so he swings a little.
Alcatraz take in “60 million in revenue.” But what are the costs? The feds are currently involved in a $40 maintenance project involving Alcatraz. E
It was closed because it was too expensive to maintain. Reopening it as a prison is a stupid, pointless idea, but stupid and pointless seems to be a recurring theme this time around.
I'm with Iman and Bob Boyd. You want to make some money with a tourist attraction that brings in Americans from all over the country, then make Alcatraz the prison where the politicians who have been ripping us off and selling our country down the road are the inmates. You could probably sell $60 million dollars' worth of rotten fruit and vegetables to throw at them.
There could be a restaurant where you could get a great taco salad on Cinco de Mayo.
Regardless of other criticisms of California (and Newsom), this is a damned stupid, expensive idea.
Gentle pushback. Tossing out the idea is not stupid, because it costs nothing to start the discussion. Tasking Burgum with taking a look at it might be a slight waste of time for the staffer who gets assigned this exercise. But I don't think we reach "stupid" level until they try to implement it, like Gavin has done with the "high speed rail," and ZeroCarbon and other actually super-wasteful boondoggles.
Gauging how serious Trump's ideas are often requires a lot of guessing. But an "idea" is rarely on its own stupid until some idiot (or obedient underling) tries to implement it. My guess is this was his version of "Governor Trudeau" aimed at Newsome, and it's obviously working because he's wasting his (and California's) time talking about it.
"Seriously but not literally"
Always good to keep top of mind, as they say.
San Clemente would be a better choice for a prison. 80 miles offshore, no permanent residents and currently used mostly by the SEALS for training. Think of the jobs, Gavin! Think of the jobs!
President "made you look" Trump.
I'm staying outside Joshua Tree NP at present and have been struck anew by the signs declaring that this or that exhibit has been paid for by our entrance fees. I'm happy about the exhibits, and JTNP doesn't seem to be suffering the malicious compliance problems of, say, Yosemite, but it's also a very low maintenance park, from what I've seen: trails require minimal maintenance, there are no facilities in the park besides latrines at some larger trailheads and campgrounds. The only workers I've seen have been the women at the entrance gates and one man lining a layby parking area - not a park ranger in sight.
So I'm feeling a desire to look into the budget of the National Park Service and see what our taxes go for.
I'll bet entrance fees to Alcatraz are much the same: they pay for lots of what people value on their visits. So, what do our taxes go for, and -as others here have said - does it operate overall at a profit, between taxes and fees?
The point of government- especially our national parks-is not to operate at a profit. Fisherman’s Wharf, boat operators, etc. all benefit indirectly from Alcatraz as a tourist destination.
How much profit does the Air Force generate?
Tourists to SF go to Alcatraz because there are no needles and human feces piles to walk around. No one is breaking into their cars over there. No one is harassing them for money walking onto Alcatraz.
Honestly, I don't know if Trump was kidding or planting the seed. But I think it's a brilliant idea. Better than Guantanamo.
“ Alcatraz is open. It's open as a tourist attraction. People love taking the boat ride out there and getting in to see the place.”
I was there once. The boat ride is nice; the prison tour is pretty boring. I thought the Indians were going to take the island back a build a casino there. That sounds like a good idea.
"This is distraction day in the United States of America."
If Newsome thinks that it is just a distraction, why is he feeding into that by calling attention to it?
(If only Trump had also said that Nicholas Cage was going to be the new warden, he would have been golden.)
I've toured Alcatraz twice. Once in the middle of the day and a few years later, the night tour. Let's just say one was much more unnerving than the other.
"Back to my Doge point, this would cost tens of millions of dollars."
And? The left is not opposed to spending money we don't have.
I pay anywhere from $4.19 to $4.79 for a gallon of gas here in Communist California, easily higher by $1.00 than anywhere else in the country. Because Democrats insist that making energy more expensive will "save the planet" which is nothing more than wishful thinking based on zero real world data. In my formerly Red county the pols are celebrating a 4 mile "streetcar" that started construction in 2018 and is now promised to be in service a year from now, at a cost of $650 million, up from the original estimate of $400 million. Building a state-of-the-art maximum security prison on Alcatraz is a really dumb idea.
Gavin Newsom hosting a podcast is just as dumb.
easily higher by $1.00 than anywhere else in the country
Nope. Paid $4.35 a gallon on Tuesday in Washington state.
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