For Trump, California stands out as his biggest, bluest enemy

Boston Globe

a day ago

The relationship between Trump and the nation's most populous state has never really recovered.
And now, as the events of this past weekend showed, it might have hit rock bottom.
While Trump has had his battles with Massachusetts and other Democratic-run states in his two terms in office, California stands out as his biggest, bluest enemy. But the fight, during which Trump has
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With its progressive policies, a highly diverse population, and total Democratic control, California is the polar opposite of Trump's Make America Great Again vision. He lost the state by millions of votes in each of his three campaigns. It is home to many of his most ardent Democratic opponents over the years: Nancy Pelosi, Adam Schiff, Kamala Harris, and the current governor, Gavin Newsom.
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California has frequently been the target of Trump's ire. It began with the
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'He does not like our politics. But you know what? That's OK. Because clearly based on the election, California does not like . . . the narcissistic personality of Donald Trump, and we clearly do not like his policies,' Representative Jimmy Panetta, a California Democrat, told reporters in the US Capitol Tuesday as he gathered with more than a dozen Democratic House colleagues from the state to blast Trump's latest move
and pledge to 'go toe-to-toe' with him over it.
That combative approach — highlighted by
to do so over the weekend — dates to Trump's first term and the
'He tries to bully us . . . but we fight back,' Representative Juan Vargas, another California Democrat, told the Globe. 'We don't roll over. . . . I mean, we fight back. And so we're fighting back right now. And I think he kind of likes that actually.'
One of Vargas's Republican colleagues from California, Representative Doug LaMalfa, agreed that the strong pushback from state Democrats is behind the tumultuous relationship. LaMalfa recalled the first advice he got about Trump from his 2016 running mate, Mike Pence.
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'He said, 'Trump is a counter puncher. He doesn't really want to draw the first blood. He'll want to sit in a room with you. Art of the deal, all that stuff, right?' ' LaMalfa said. 'But you attack him, he will punch back. Hard.'
There are clear advantages for Trump in taking on California, said Dan Schnur, a former Republican strategist who teaches political communications at the University of Southern California and the University of California Berkeley.
'When push comes to shove, he's a deep-red president dealing with a deep-blue state. Even if Trump wanted to make it work, it wouldn't be easy,' Schnur said. 'But he doesn't want to make it work. He knows how much he benefits with his base by picking fights with California. So with rare exceptions, the political payoff is much greater than any downside.'
Trump hasn't always had a problem with California. In the 1987 book he cowrote, 'The Art of the Deal,' Trump said he 'flirted briefly with the idea of attending film school at the University of Southern California' because he was 'was attracted to the glamour of the movies.' But he decided to go into his family's real estate business in New York instead.
Representative Jimmy Gomez, a Southern California Democrat, said some people have suggested Trump got irked at California when
'If he was a regular former New Yorker, I would say that he didn't like the Dodgers,' Gomez joked. 'But I think it's just what he thinks California stands for.'
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But Representative Ro Khanna, a Democrat from northern California, said it's hard to know what's fueling Trump's animosity.
'Who knows what's in his head?' Khanna said. 'But he's been obsessed with it.'
The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
Several Democrats said Trump was looking for a distraction after his
'He's looking for a good show. He's an entertainer,' Gomez said. 'I think he's thinking about what's going to make good television. And going after California, the most populous state, the fourth-largest economy on the face of the planet . . . is good TV for himself.'
Just as in his first term, Trump returned to office on bad terms with California.
Immediately after last November's election, Newsom called a special session of the state legislature
Trump blasted the move on social media, using a demeaning nickname in writing that
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Newsom initially tried to defuse the threat on wildfire funding,
greeting Trump when he visited Los Angeles to tour the damage just four days after taking office. But Newsom also is a potential 2028 Democratic presidential candidate and that has added to the current tensions, said Lanhee Chen, a fellow at the conservative Hoover Institution think tank in California.
'It takes two to tango,' said Chen, who was policy director for Republican Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential campaign. 'I think a lot of governors have tried to stay above it a little bit and . . . while they've disagreed with Trump, they haven't turned it into this kind of personal macho match that it appears as though Newsom is trying to do here.'
But it's exactly that kind of fight that Trump gets from California that keeps the state in his crosshairs, said Representative Pete Aguilar, the third-ranking House Democrat.
'Just look at who he surrounds himself with, a lot of people who tell him 'yes' and tell him what he wants to hear,' Aguilar said. 'You're not going to hear that when you're talking to Democrats from California.'
Tal Kopan of the Globe staff contributed to this report.
Jim Puzzanghera can be reached at