Gavin Newsom got crappy deal on diapers for latest political gambit

California Gov. Gavin Newsom.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a new initiative last week, meant to capitalize on Mother's Day, in which the Golden State will begin distributing free diapers to parents of newborns this summer. All told, the program will hand out 40 million free diapers at a cost of $20 million to taxpayers, but over Mother's Day weekend the new initiative began drawing heavy criticism. 

The program, dubbed "Golden State Start," was launched in conjunction with Baby2Baby, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit. But critics of the plan pointed out over the weekend that, Norah Weinstein, the co-CEO of Baby2Baby has close ties to Newsom's wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom. According to The California Post, Weinstein is a member of the board of directors of Siebel Newsom's nonprofit, California Partners Project, which has led some to accuse Newsom of corruption, particularly given the cost of the initiative.

Steve Hilton, a Republican running to be the next governor of California, criticized Newsom's diaper gambit in a post on X over the weekend, breaking down what the says is an inflated cost to California taxpayers. Hilton recorded the video in the diaper aisle of Target, and said that the deal Newsom struck costs taxpayers 50 cents per diaper. Had Newsom just purchased diapers off the shelf at Target, he could've paid 16 cents a diaper -- less than one-third the price he's locking in for taxpayers. Hilton speculated that an even better deal could be found buying in bulk at Costco.

Hilton went on to suggest that Newsom could skip the convoluted free diaper progran and simply cut taxes, thereby giving parents in California more money with which to buy diapers. But he chose the diaper initiative instead, Hilton continued, because then taxpayer money will be "going to some total bulls**t nonprofit, which cronies of his are going to make money" from, he said. "And that is what is wrong with California."

Under Newsom's plan, the state has already committed $7.4 million on the diaper spend, plus another $12.5 million approved in the proposed budget for 2026-2027, The California Post reported. Watch Hilton's video below.