President Donald Trump is once again dominating the political stage, turning clashes with Democratic governors over crime and redistricting into an early preview of the 2028 race.
A growing roster of blue-state governors is openly defying Trump’s agenda, placing themselves at the center of some of the most high-profile fights of his second term. His push to deploy federal forces to cities plagued by crime and to pursue mid-decade redistricting has drawn sharp resistance.
For Democrats such as Govs. Gavin Newsom (D-CA), J.B. Pritzker (D-IL), and Wes Moore (D-MD), the fights have also created an opportunity to boost their national profiles and fuel speculation about their 2028 ambitions.
This dynamic took on fresh intensity on Monday, when Trump renewed his criticisms of Pritzker, taunting his physical fitness and musing about sending the National Guard to Chicago. In response, Pritzker blasted Trump as a “fifth-grade bully” and said the president himself was “not in good shape.” The exchange crystallized how quickly these policy battles have become personal and political tests for Trump and his Democratic critics.
Another flashpoint erupted over the weekend, when Trump turned his attention to Maryland. After Gov. Wes Moore invited him to “walk the streets of Baltimore,” Trump threatened to deploy troops, lobbed personal attacks, and even suggested withholding federal funding tied to the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge.
Moore, a first-term governor often mentioned as a rising Democratic star who insists he isn’t planning a presidential run, nonetheless seized the moment, commandeering national TV coverage and telling CBS’s Face the Nation he may pursue a mid-decade congressional map redraw in response to a Texas plan pushed at Trump’s prompting.
That willingness to engage mirrors moves by other Democratic governors. Newsom has paired substance with spectacle, preparing to push a mid-decade redraw of California’s congressional lines in response to Republican mapmaking elsewhere, while at the same time adopting a cheeky online persona designed to get under Trump’s skin. He has mimicked the president’s typing habits, embraced his ALL-CAPS style, and shared visuals styled after Trump’s branding, turning trolling into a political weapon.
Pritzker has taken a more formal line, casting himself as the sober foil to Trump’s theatrics. He has accused the president of trying to “militarize democracy,” warning that Chicago is being used as a political punching bag in a broader law-and-order narrative crafted for national consumption.
Democratic strategists argue the confrontations are energizing their base. “Trump’s actions and sending United States Marines into Los Angeles only helped to spur that fire from Governor Newsom,” strategist Randy Jones said. “When Pritzker and Newsom go through South Carolina, they get to have conversations with voters about taking on Trump directly in their states. And Moore is right there with them, pushing back in a way that excites the base.”
Brad Bannon, another Democratic strategist, said the clashes are giving Democrats a rare platform. “Moore has been able to step up, framing this as a fight for state rights and democratic institutions,” he said.
The White House insists Democrats are misplaying the issue. Vice President JD Vance, appearing with Trump in the Oval Office on Monday, said the governors are more interested in politics than public safety. “They are angrier about the fact that the president of the United States is offering to help them get their crime under control than they are about the fact that murderers are running roughshod over their cities and have been for decades,” Vance said.
Trump on Tuesday dismissed concerns about deploying the National Guard to blue cities without permission from the Democratic governors, who have threatened legal actions.
“I have the right to do anything I want to do,” Trump told reporters. “I’m the president of the United States. If I think our country is in danger, and it is a danger in these cities, I can do it. No problem going in and solving his difficulties.”
Republican strategists argue the same point. “Democrats have just not figured out the issue of crime,” GOP strategist Nathan Brand said. “These are Democrat-controlled cities. They can’t admit their policies don’t work, so they deflect, and Trump has the bigger megaphone. He’s put them in a no-win spot.”
Greg Manz, a Michigan-based Republican strategist, said Trump’s message resonates. “President Trump is putting on a master class in real time,” he said. “His administration is winning daily on illegal immigration, the rule of law, and forcefully cracking down on crime in neighborhoods across America. Clueless Democrats eyeing 2028 clearly didn’t learn a thing from their crushing defeat in 2024; no wonder their poll numbers are hitting historic lows.”
While governors in safe Democratic states have embraced the fight, their counterparts in swing states have been more cautious. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, considered serious 2028 prospects, have largely avoided direct conflict with Trump. “That could change if Trump decides to go after Philadelphia or Detroit,” Bannon said. “But for now, the blue-state governors have the easier play.”
Jones predicted Whitmer and Shapiro may eventually join the fray if the confrontational approach proves successful. “The smart money is to sit back and see how this plays out, see how well this works for the governors who are in the spotlight right now,” he said. But suppose polling, positivity numbers, and name ID continue to rise for guys like Newsom and Pritzker. In that case, you’ll see other candidates using tougher language, talking more about the National Guard being armed, speaking out more forcefully. I think this is a winning narrative for Democrats.”
For Democrats, the governors’ willingness to challenge Trump has filled a void left by Congress. “Democrats are very frustrated with their leadership in Washington,” Bannon said. “They love seeing Newsom being incredibly combative, and Pritzker too.”
Jones added, “The base hasn’t seen anyone step up and fight back in a long time. Whether this is theater or not, they’re thrilled to watch it.”
Republicans contend Trump has shifted the debate to ground that favors their party. By linking troop deployments and redistricting to crime and immigration, they argue, Democrats are forced to play defense. “Chicago, DC, San Francisco, these are places Republicans always highlight,” Brand said. “They’re the perfect contrasts.”
PRITZKER SAYS TRUMP ‘NOT IN GOOD SHAPE’ AFTER NATIONAL GUARD THREATS: ‘TAKES ONE TO KNOW ONE’
Trump’s escalating battles with governors like Moore, Newsom, and Pritzker highlight the larger reality: whether Democrats are falling into his trap or seizing an opening, the president has guaranteed that the shadow primary for 2028 is unfolding on his terms.