Latest news with #CaliforniaPolitics
Washington Post
5 hours ago
- Politics
- Washington Post
California Gov. Gavin Newsom says Trump is stepping toward authoritarianism
LOS ANGELES — The relationship between the leader of the United States and the country's most populous state reached a near-breaking point Monday, as President Donald Trump said that he thought California Gov. Gavin Newsom should be arrested, a claim that Newsom described as an unmistakable step toward authoritarianism. The back-and-forth came as Trump stepped up the military's presence on the streets of Los Angeles, against Newsom's will, as the two men traded recriminations.
Telegraph
9 hours ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
Gavin Newsom finally finds a cause: taking on Trump
The Democratic governor of liberal California has welcomed Donald Trump to his state, cosied up to Conservative podcasters, and slashed healthcare provisions for illegal immigrants this year. But the reinvention of Gavin Newsom as the sort of Democrat who might be able to win back Republican voters came to a shuddering halt during a weekend of riots. With Mr Trump ordering troops onto his streets, Mr Newsom hit back, accusing the president of intentionally inflaming a difficult situation. It leaves Mr Newsom with no choice but to halt his drift Right-ward, said Hank Sheinkopf, a Democratic strategist. 'If not, he loses his entire constituency,' he said. 'In other words, there's a toleration level for moving to the centre, but not when it comes to massive chaos in Los Angeles.' Mr Newsom has put himself at the front of Democrat efforts to examine how they lost the 2024 election so badly. He launched a podcast in March in which he picks the brains of leading figures in Trump world. And Mr Newsom angered liberals with the very first episode, in which he interviewed Charlie Kirk, the controversial Conservative, when he said it was unfair that transgender athletes could compete in women's sport. He also said Democrats simply could not compete with the likes of Mr Trump and Elon Musk when it came to online reach. 'We're toast,' he said. Last month, facing a budget crunch, the telegenic governor back-pedalled on a promise of healthcare for all. He announced a freeze in enrolment for undocumented adults in the state's public health insurance programme. He has also urged cities to ban encampments for homeless people, cracking down on the tent cities that have blighted so much of California. And in January, he thanked Mr Trump for federal help in rebuilding after devastating wildfires that swept through Los Angeles. 'I've been always a hard-headed pragmatist,' he told reporters recently when quizzed about his shifting positions. 'I'm not an ideologue.' Trump a 'stone cold liar' That all seems a long time ago after immigration raids around Los Angeles on Friday sparked three days of riots, and an order by Mr Trump to send in 2,000 National Guard troops. Tom Homan, the president's border tsar, threatened to arrest the California governor if he got in the way. 'Come and get me, tough guy,' was Mr Newsom's pithy response on X. After Mr Trump agreed the governor should be arrested, the governor shot back saying it was 'a line we cannot cross as a nation'. He threatened to sue the federal government for its illegal act and called the president a 'stone cold liar' for failing to bring up his plan to send the National Guard when they spoke by telephone. 'There is currently no need for the National Guard to be deployed in Los Angeles and to do so in this unlawful manner and for such lengthy period is a serious breach of state sovereignty that seems intentionally designed to inflame the situation while simultaneously depriving the state from deploying these personnel and resources where they are truly required,' he wrote in a letter. That puts him at the centre of the news headlines, said James Carville, the veteran Democratic strategist and former adviser to Bill Clinton, even if it was too early to say that the party had finally found a national figurehead to oppose Mr Trump. But he said Mr Newsom's full-blooded reaction to Mr Trump and his tsar did not mark a reversal of his shift to the Right, but were compatible with his rejection of progressive totems such as identity politics. 'I don't think we should say we can render a verdict after 48 hours, but his actions have been totally what he would expect,' he said after Mr Trump had 'invaded' his state with troops. At the same time, he added, the crackdown on illegal immigrants remained a popular part of the platform that helped Republicans reclaim the White House last year. That leaves the governor and Democrats with a fine line to straddle: taking on Mr Trump over his decision to send in troops but without being painted as soft on illegal immigration or unrest in the streets. 'I think Trump sees all kinds of trouble on the horizon,' Mr Carville said. 'What he's very good at is just doing something to dominate the news.'
RNZ News
11 hours ago
- Politics
- RNZ News
Feud between President Trump and California Governor escalates as unrest continues in LA
politics world 23 minutes ago Donald Trump has told reporters he thought it would be "great" if California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, was arrested for what he said was gross incompetence, amid the continuing unrest in Los Angeles. The Associated Press' Philip Crowther spoke to Corin Dann.
News.com.au
a day ago
- Politics
- News.com.au
LA unrest marks latest clash of US presidents, states over National Guard
Donald Trump's deployment of California's National Guard marks the first time in decades that a US president openly defied a state governor and sent troops to an emergency zone. By ordering 2,000 guardsmen to Los Angeles to help quell protests against raids by US immigration agents, Trump essentially mounted a takeover of the state's military regiments to address "lawlessness" on the city's streets. The National Guard is a reserve military rooted in the 17th century local militias created in the American colonies before the country's founding. Since then the guard has had multiple responsibilities: domestic disaster relief and security, homeland defense and prevention of civil unrest; and acting as reserve forces for US military deployments overseas. Presidential orders to deploy guardsmen domestically are not uncommon. But clashes between a president and governor over deployments -- or the lack thereof, such as during the US Capitol riot by Trump supporters on January 6, 2021 while he was still in office -- have been rare. - Los Angeles, 2025 - The White House said Trump relied on a seldom used law, known as Title 10, that permits National Guard federalization in times of "a rebellion or danger of a rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States." California Governor Gavin Newsom called the decision "purposefully inflammatory." But Trump's order proceeded, and the guard troops were on LA streets Sunday. "This is the first time since 1965 that a president has deployed the National Guard without a request by a state governor," Kenneth Roth, a longtime former Human Rights Watch executive director, posted on X. "Then it was (president Lyndon) Johnson protecting civil rights protesters. Now it's Trump creating a spectacle so he can continue his immigration raids." Elizabeth Goitein of the Brennan Center for Justice warned of a "shocking abuse of power" by Trump, whose memorandum authorizes federalization of National Guard troops "at locations where protests against (federal immigration) functions are occurring or are likely to occur." "Trump has authorized the deployment of troops anywhere in the country where protests against ICE activity might occur," Goitein posted on X. "That is a huge red flag." - Alabama, 1965 - A landmark civil rights moment led to a National Guard clash between a president and a segregationist governor. With demonstrators led by Martin Luther King Jr on a five-day march from Selma to Alabama's capital Montgomery, governor George Wallace pledged National Guard security -- but then reneged. The U-turn incensed Johnson who, in defiance of Wallace, called up the guard. The march was protected by thousands of Army soldiers and federalized guard members. - Arkansas, 1957 - When the Little Rock school system was ordered desegregated, Arkansas' pro-segregationist governor Orval Faubus deployed the National Guard to surround a high school and prevent nine Black students from entering. President Dwight Eisenhower bristled at the standoff and told Faubus the guard must maintain order so the Black students could attend. Instead, Faubus pulled the guardsmen, leaving security to local forces. Eisenhower issued an executive order federalizing the Arkansas National Guard, and ordered 1,000 US Army troops to join them. - Kent State, 1970 - Perhaps no anti-Vietnam war protest was more pivotal than at Ohio's Kent State University, where students slammed Richard Nixon's war expansion. As unrest swelled, the National Guard opened fire, killing four students and wounding nine others. The shootings sparked outrage, but also led to reforms regarding how the guard handles civil unrest and use of force. - Hurricane Katrina, 2005 - The massive hurricane left much of New Orleans underwater, leading to the largest-ever peacetime deployment of the National Guard. But critics accused then-president George W Bush of favoring a militaristic response over humanitarian relief. Louisiana's governor, Kathleen Blanco, warned that many among the thousands of National Guard and federal troops were battle-tested Iraq war veterans. "These troops know how to shoot and kill and I expect they will," she reportedly said. - Outside White House, 2020 - June 1, 2020 saw a brutal crackdown on demonstrators following the police murder of African-American George Floyd. With people aggressively protesting near the White House, the National Guard joined police to maintain order. Flash grenades and tear gas were deployed. Unlike in the nation's 50 states, the DC National Guard is under direct command of the US president, who at the time was Trump.
Wall Street Journal
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Wall Street Journal
Is California Finally Ready to Try Compassion?
At least rhetorically, savvy California politicians have been migrating lately away from the loopy leftism that created misery in the Golden State and helped doom the presidential bid of the Bay Area's own Kamala Harris. Let's hope that the latest acknowledgments of progressive policy failure lead to the enactment of meaningful changes to enable human flourishing. To take one prominent example, voters have known for a while that allowing people to live outdoors in public spaces is not kind to anyone. Are California politicians finally ready to clean up the mess they've made? The office of Gov. Gavin Newsom (D., Calif.) announces in a press release today:
