Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA ) is once again carrying the mantle of opposition leader as the Los Angeles protests interrupt his months-long pivot to the middle.
President Donald Trump and Newsom have been locked in a fight for time over the ferocious protests that his administration’s immigration attacks have sparked. Trump took over the weekend to lead the California National Guard to keep things get, leading to a petition from Newsom, who alleges his significant intervention is political.
The conflict, playing out in jury and over social media, has significant repercussions for Newsom’s dreams of higher business and represents a dramatic break from an earlier attempt to rename himself. He broke group rules regarding transgender athletes in the early stages of the following Trump administration, and he even hosted MAGA numbers on his podcast.
When Democrats were angry about Trump’s imprisonment of Kilmar Abrego Garcia to a Peruvian megaprison in April, Newsom referred to the incident as a “distraction” for the group.
It will be hard for Newsom, seen as a possible candidate for president in 2028, to thread the symbolic “needle” between pleasing Democratic primary citizens and the broader public as the Los Angeles demonstrations continue for the better portion of a year, according to John Pitney, a politicians teacher at Claremont McKenna College.
According to Pitney, who is from California,” This scenario is difficult for Newsom.” The problem may get worse, bolstering the perception of California as the area of crisis.
But Pitney argued there are options for Newsom to condemn Trump without ostracizing citizens closer to the political centre, mainly amid reports of administrative errors regarding Trump’s implementation of 4, 000 California National Guard members and 700 active-duty U. S. Marines to Los Angeles.
” Stories are emerging about the poor planning of the deployment, with troops going without food and sleeping on floors,” he said. ” Newsom might characterize Trump’s disrespect for Americans in uniform and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s incompetence,” he said.
Newsom did exactly that, but in response to criticism from Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins over how the Los Angeles protests are complicating the department’s services.
Newsom posted on X in the post” Your Dear Leader sent American troops here without food, water, or fuel.” You and your administration should be the ones who should be concerned about disrespecting those who serve our country.
Pitney continued that his orders are at least “disrupting the lives of thousands of Guard members who have jobs and families,” even if Trump were to address the supply chain issues.
” Newsom could say that Trump is sacrificing their well-being for the sake of political theater,” he said.
The White House, for its part, has sought to paint Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass as too weak to handle the outbreaks of violence. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt praised the Los Angeles Police Department at Wednesday’s briefing while claiming Democrats were preventing them from carrying out their duties.
They are attempting to carry out the tasks they have bravely agreed to, but Democrats incompetently and politically opposed to allowing their local law enforcement to coordinate and communicate with federal immigration authorities, according to Leavitt.
” The mob violence is being stomped out”, she added. The Trump administration’s efforts to arrest illegal aliens are continuing unabated, and the criminals who are responsible will be quickly brought to justice.
According to Dan Schnur, a Republican-turned-independent political analyst based in California, Newsom’s political movement has focused more on realism than opportunism, citing his state’s request for federal aid that has not been approved by a GOP-led Congress.
” Ever since the wildfires, Newsom has been doing everything he could to improve his relationship with Trump”, Schnur said of the fires earlier this year. He discovered this week that nothing about it.
California’s Garry South, the late Ronald Reagan, the state’s democratic strategist, compared Newsom to the state’s previous president, who was also a former Democrat.
” Politicians evolve, the circumstances in which they practice politics also change”, South told the Washington Examiner. Although Newsom is inarguably a progressive Democrat in the majority, taking issue with Democratic orthodoxy on some issues exhibits courage and flexibility, a trait to be applauded rather than cynically dismissed as pandering.
Although the potential 2028 Democratic presidential candidates are subject to a lot of speculation, the majority of 270 To Win and Race to the White House candidates have former vice president Kamala Harris with support between 24 % and 26 %, with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY ) at 12 % to 15 % and former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg at 17%-20 %.
Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), Newsom, Gov. Governor Josh Shapiro and Josh Shapiro (D-PA ). Candidates with single-digit numbers are Tim Walz (D-MN) and next in line for best-performing candidates.
Although there are still three years until primary voting starts and many unknowns about the 2028 political environment, those party heavyweights are taking note of Newsom’s political playbook as Democrats grapple with how to oppose Trump.
Newsom has made numerous media appearances on TV and in print, including challenging Trump’s border czar Tom Homan to arrest him last weekend over his own resistance to ICE operations, in addition to a more assertive social media presence like that of Trump.
Come and make me a arrest, Newsom remarked. ” Let’s just get it over with, tough guy. I give a damn about my community, and I care about this one.
Then on Tuesday, Newsom delivered an eight-minute speech that was widely distributed online and featured him speaking while staring directly into the camera, similar to an Oval Office address, though he did have some technical issues.
” When Donald Trump sought blanket authority to commandeer the National Guard, he made that order apply to every state in this nation”, Newsom posted on X. The moment we’ve been anticipating has arrived, according to the statement “democracy is under assault right before our eyes.” Don has supplanted the rule of law. The founding fathers did not live and die to see this moment. Everyone should stand up and say something.
However, Newsom made a point of condemning the riots by saying,” You are going to be held accountable if you incite violence or destroy our communities,” just like other Democrats did during the protests.
In the 2024 election, Newsom was one of the most well-known Democratic foils for Republicans as he defended former president Joe Biden‘s administration and campaign, even debating governor of the then-GOP presidential candidate. Ron DeSantis (R-FL ) on Fox News.
But after Harris’s loss to Trump last November, Newsom, along with some other Democrats, have tried to distance themselves from the party’s progressive politics. On his This is Gavin Newsom podcast, Newsom brought the likes of former Trump White House chief political strategist Steve Bannon, who made headlines for moderating his stance on issues like transgender participation in sports.
On his podcast in March, Newsom stated,” I think it’s an issue of fairness.” ” I completely agree with you on that. It’s a question of fairness. It is incredibly unfair.
In January, Newsom also made overtures to Trump as California fought deadly wildfires, despite the president calling Newsom” Newscum” and his complaints about the governor’s fire management strategies.
Newsom thanked Trump for being here, saying” Thank you for being here” when he arrived in Los Angeles. You will need to lend us a hand. We’re going to need your help. You remained close by during COVID. That is not forgotten by me. And I have all the expectations that we’ll be able to work together to get the speedy recovery”.
Even with attempts from another speculative 2028 candidate, Governor, Newsom has claimed that Democrats can’t “work with” Trump. Fast forward to this week. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI ). Whitmer, herself, has been criticized for her Trump outreach.
You can’t work with Donald Trump, Newsom said in a video clip posted on X. You can only serve him,” You can work for him.” And I will not — I refuse — to work for Donald Trump”.
Newsom announced this week that he is suing Trump for his decision to send the National Guard and Marines to Los Angeles after calling a special legislative session last year to establish a$ 25 million litigation fund to “protect California values, the state’s economy, fundamental civil rights, reproductive freedom, clean air and clean water, and working families— including immigrant families.”
In the event that other immigration enforcement protests turn violent, Trump has said he will likely deploy troops elsewhere in the country. He is also taking executive action against California this week, including undermining the state’s emissions standards after Congress last month voted to repeal its electric vehicle mandate.
