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.
For days, President Donald Trump has been locked in a battle with Newsom over the violent protests, sparked by his administration’s immigration raids. Trump took command of the California National Guard over the weekend to help maintain order, prompting a lawsuit from Newsom and claims his heavy intervention is political.
The feud, playing out in court and over social media, has major implications for Newsom’s aspirations of higher office and represents a stark break from an earlier attempt to rebrand himself. In the early months of the second Trump administration, he broke party orthodoxy on transgender athletes and even hosted MAGA figures on his podcast.
When Democrats were up in arms over Trump’s deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia to a Salvadoran megaprison in April, Newsom called the fight a “distraction” for the party.
It will be difficult for Newsom, seen as a possible contender for president in 2028, to thread the metaphorical “needle” between pleasing Democratic primary voters and the broader electorate as the Los Angeles protests continue for the better part of a week, according to John Pitney, a politics professor at Claremont McKenna College.
“This situation is risky for Newsom,” Pitney told the Washington Examiner from California. “The disorder could get worse, reinforcing the image of California as the land of disaster.”
But Pitney argued there are opportunities for Newsom to criticize Trump without ostracizing voters closer to the political center, particularly amid reports of logistical mistakes regarding Trump’s deployment 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 having to sleep on floors,” he said. “Newsom could frame the issue as [Defense Secretary Pete] Hegseth‘s incompetence and Trump’s disrespect for Americans in uniform.”
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.
“Your Dear Leader sent American troops here without fuel, water, or food,” Newsom posted on X. “If anyone should be worried about disrespecting those that serve our nation, it should be you and your administration.”
Pitney added that, even if Trump were to rectify the supply chain problems, his orders are at least “disrupting the lives of thousands of Guard members who have jobs and families.”
“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. At Wednesday’s briefing, press secretary Karoline Leavitt praised the Los Angeles Police Department while claiming Democrats were keeping them from doing their jobs.
“They are trying to do the work that they’ve so bravely signed up to do to enforce the law, but they have been kneecapped by incompetent Democrat policies and Democrat politicians who do not allow their local law enforcement to correspond and coordinate with federal immigration authorities,” Leavitt said.
“The mob violence is being stomped out,” she added. “The criminals responsible will be swiftly brought to justice, and the Trump administration’s operations to arrest illegal aliens are continuing unabated.”
Dan Schnur, a Republican-turned-independent political analyst based in California, argued Newsom’s movement along the political spectrum has been less about opportunism and more about realism, citing his state’s request for wildfire aid that has not been granted 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 learned this week that none of it made a difference.”
California Democratic strategist Garry South was similarly forgiving, comparing Newsom with the last president from the state, the late Ronald Reagan — himself a former Democrat.
“Politicians evolve, the circumstances in which they practice politics also change,” South told the Washington Examiner. “Newsom is inarguably a progressive Democrat in the main, but taking issue with Democratic orthodoxy on some issues shows courage and flexibility, a trait to be applauded, not cynically dismissed as pandering.”
Polling of potential 2028 Democratic presidential candidates is highly speculative, but averages calculated by 270 To Win and Race to the White House have former Vice President Kamala Harris with between 24%-26% support to former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg‘s 17%-20% and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez‘s (D-NY) 12%-15%.
Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), Newsom, Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-PA), and Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) are the next best-performing candidates with numbers in the single digits.
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.
Supplementing a more assertive social media presence similar to that of Trump, Newsom has made multiple media appearances on TV and in print, including to challenge Trump border czar Tom Homan to arrest him last weekend over his own resistance to ICE operations.
“Come and arrest me,” Newsom said. “Let’s just get it over with, tough guy. I don’t give a damn, but I care about my community, I care about this community.”
Then on Tuesday, Newsom delivered an eight-minute speech circulated online in which he spoke while looking directly into the camera, similar to an Oval Office address, though he did experience his share of technical problems.
“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. “Democracy is under assault right before our eyes — the moment we’ve feared has arrived. The rule of law has increasingly given way to the rule of Don. The founding fathers did not live and die to see this moment. It’s time for all of us to stand up.”
Still, Newsom, like other Democrats amid the protests, did make the point of condemning the riots, saying, “If you incite violence or destroy our communities, you are going to be held accountable.”
Newsom was among the most high-profile Democratic foil for Republicans during the 2024 election as he defended former President Joe Biden‘s administration and campaign, even debating then-GOP presidential candidate Gov. 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. Newsom brought the likes of former Trump White House chief political strategist Steve Bannon on his This is Gavin Newsom podcast, in which he made headlines for moderating his stance on issues like transgender participation in sports.
“I think it’s an issue of fairness,” Newsom told Charlie Kirk on his podcast in March. “I completely agree with you on that. It is an issue of fairness. It’s deeply 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.
“Thank you for being here,” Newsom told Trump at the time after he arrived in Los Angeles. “We’re going to need your support. We’re going to need your help. You were there for us during COVID. I don’t forget that. And I have all the expectations that we’ll be able to work together to get the speedy recovery.”
Fast-forward to this week, and Newsom has asserted that Democrats cannot “work with” Trump, regardless of attempts from another speculated 2028 candidate, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI). Whitmer, herself, has been criticized for her Trump outreach.
“You can’t work with Donald Trump,” Newsom posted on X with a video clip. “You can only work FOR him. And I will not — I refuse — to work for Donald Trump.”
After calling a special legislative session last year to create 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,” Newsom announced this week he is suing Trump over his deployment of the National Guard and Marines to Los Angeles.
Meanwhile, Trump has previewed the prospect of him deploying troops elsewhere across the country should other immigration enforcement protests become violent. He is also reportedly considering taking executive action against California this week, from reducing the state’s federal education funding to undermining its emissions standards after Congress last month voted to repeal its electric vehicle mandate.