Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks with Economic Development Corporation CEO Stephen Cheung at the 2025 Economic Forecast and Industry Outlook conference at East Los Angeles College on Wednesday, February 26, 2025.
Sarah Reingewirtz | Medianews Group | Los Angeles Daily News Via Getty Images | Medianews Group | Getty Images
Amid immigration raids, peaceful protests, attacks on law enforcement officers and the threat of his own arrest by federal agents, California Gov. Gavin Newsom is immersed in what could be the most consequential political fight of his career.
The battle between the president and the governor of the country’s largest state instantly turned Newsom into the face of resistance to President Donald Trump’s expansive interpretation of the authorities of his office and mass-deportation campaign. Newsom, who is a potential 2028 Democratic presidential candidate, has been taking heavy criticism from within his own party over his efforts — in part through his new podcast — to cast himself in the role of conciliator.
Newsom delivered an address Tuesday night that aimed squarely at Trump and was clearly intended for a national audience.
“This isn’t just about protests here in Los Angeles,” he said. “When Donald Trump sought blanket authority to commander the National Guard, he made that order apply to every state in this nation. This is about all of us. This is about you. California may be first, but it clearly will not end here. Other states are next. Democracy is next. Democracy is under assault before our eyes. This moment we have feared has arrived.”
“For someone like Newsom, the balance is: Is he able to be tough enough? Will he stand up to Trump? How does he lead at this moment?” said Democratic strategist Karen Finney. “This is unprecedented. There’s not a right answer. So far, he’s doing the right things, being clear, consistent, clear communication.”
Newsom could try to turn the situation on Trump by pointing to government overreach, but at the same time, there is real risk of an eruption violence from rogue actors, said Matt Bennett, co-founder of Third Way, a center-left think tank.
“The images of the militarization of this for no reason should be enough for Newsom to win this debate as long as they can keep control of the worst of the violence,” he said.
“Trump always goes too far,” Bennett added. “Last time, he went too far with the Muslim ban. Then he really went too far with child separation — those images really hurt Trump. Here, it’s a real question. It’s a much closer call this time. We just don’t know yet.”
As it is, Newsom must balance forces that are both inside and outside of his control. That includes competing with messaging from Trump (who frequently refers to the governor as “Newscum”) and the president’s top lieutenants, who are ever-present on cable news, social media and political podcasts. And it involves attempting to quell violent actors while pointing to Trump’s actions — which have included deploying the U.S. Marines — as an overreach.
The White House maintains it is winning the public relations battle, with officials tapping a refrain this week that it was the fight they wanted replete with made-for-TV images. They included images of billowing black smoke and Waymo vehicles that protesters had set on fire.
On Monday, California sued Trump for using emergency powers to deploy National Guard troops to the Los Angeles area over the weekend. Trump, citing a statute that allows the president to activate the guard to repel a foreign invasion or quell a rebellion, accused Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass of failing to protect federal agents and property from demonstrators.
Newsom has slammed the step as escalatory and said existing law enforcement could have handled any violence or destruction. He argued that the move was “purposefully inflammatory and will only escalate tensions” and that there was “currently no unmet need.”
Newsom has also been mounting his own messaging offensive, including on X, where he posted what appeared to be photos of troops crowded on a floor, apparently attempting to rest.
“You sent your troops here without fuel, food, water or a place to sleep. Here they are — being forced to sleep on the floor, piled on top of one another. If anyone is treating our troops disrespectfully, it is you @realDonaldTrump,” Newsom said on X.
On Sunday, Newsom chided Trump “border czar” Tom Homan, saying in an MSNBC interview: “Tom, arrest me. Let’s go.”
Late Monday, Newsom sat for a “Pod Save America” podcast recording in which he cast Trump’s actions as unconstitutional and said some of those assigned to Los Angeles — in his view, unnecessarily — were pried away from fentanyl investigations, and potentially from border operations, for “this theatrical display of toughness by a president of the United States who is unhinged.”
By Tuesday morning, Newsom accused Trump and his top White House deportation architect Stephen Miller of sheltering insurrectionists.
“The only people defending insurrectionists are you and @realDonaldTrump. Or, are we pretending like you didn’t pardon 1500 of them?”
On Tuesday afternoon, the two were locked in another public squabble after Trump told reporters he delivered some tough words to Newsom in a phone call Monday. Newsom said the two hadn’t spoken since Friday, then posted an interview with NBC News from over the weekend in which Newsom contended he and Trump had a pleasant conversation and that the president barely talked about the issue at hand.
The White House had a different take.
“The President called Gavin Newsom to tell him to get his ass in gear,” White House spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement. “The only liar here is Newsom who continues to fail his state as he prioritizes doing interviews with leftist media to gaslight the public instead of helping his state.”
At that, Newsom responded on X: “Donald Trump is a stone cold liar.”
