Newsom, in California address, says Trump purposely ‘fanned the flames’ of L.A. protests
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- Gov. Gavin Newsom contended that President Trump intentionally fanned the flames of the L.A. protests and pulled “a military dragnet” across the city.
- Newsom’s speech drew praise from Democrats and criticism from Republicans after days of verbal sparring between the governor and the president.
SACRAMENTO — With federal troops occupying the streets of downtown Los Angeles and immigration agents carrying out indiscriminate raids across the city, Gov. Gavin Newsom forcefully rebuked President’s Trump claim that militarization was necessary to control the protests and offered an alternative vision of leadership for a nation in turmoil.
“Donald Trump’s government isn’t protecting our communities — they’re traumatizing our communities,” Newsom said in a speech Tuesday shared on social media during the prime-time hour. “And that seems to be the entire point.”
The governor released the speech hours after Trump said at Ft. Bragg in North Carolina that he sent in the California National Guard and the U.S. Marines to protect immigration agents from “the attacks of a vicious and violent mob.” By standing up and countering Trump’s assertions, Newsom endeared himself to Democrats who are hungry for a leader who isn’t afraid to fight back.
“He looked like a real leader,” said Celinda Lake, a national Democratic pollster based in Washington, D.C. “I thought he made a really clear point. He looked extremely authentic. He was strong. He looked like the kind of person you’d want in charge of your state, in charge of your city and in charge of your country.”
Newsom portrayed a sharply different reality to the White House’s version of events that led to the federal takeover of Los Angeles, contending that Trump intentionally fanned the flames of the protests and pulled “a military dragnet” across the city, endangering peaceful protesters and targeting hardworking immigrant families. State and local law enforcement personnel were successfully keeping the peace before federal authorities deployed tear gas, flash-bang grenades and rubber bullets on Angelenos exercising their constitutional right to free speech and assembly, he said.
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Then Trump “illegally” called up the California National Guard, Newsom said.
“This brazen abuse of power by a sitting president inflamed a combustible situation, putting our people, our officers, and even our National Guard at risk,” Newsom said. “That’s when the downward spiral began. He doubled down on his dangerous National Guard deployment by fanning the flames even harder. And the president, he did it on purpose.”
In a politically polarized country, the speech drew praise from Democrats and criticism from Republicans after days of verbal sparring between the governor and the president.
“The governor and the mayor need to actually do more,” said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. “I know Gavin Newsom had a big address to the nation last night. I guess he thought that’s what it was — for maybe future political ambitions — but he spoke a lot of words. We haven’t seen action. California has been a mess for years because of the incompetence of Gavin Newsom.”
Newsom, who has become a central figure in the political and legal battle over the protests, has said for days that an “unhinged” Trump deployed troops to intentionally incite violence and chaos, seeking to divert attention away from his actions in Washington and assert his “dictatorial tendencies.”
The deployment of the National Guard catapulted Gov. Gavin Newsom to the front lines of a Democratic resistance against Trump that he has been reluctant to embrace.
Newsom and state Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta filed a request for a restraining order earlier Tuesday asking a federal judge to call off the “Department of Defense’s illegal militarization of Los Angeles and the takeover of a California National Guard unit.” The request came the day after California filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration alleging that the deployment of the Guard without the governor’s consent violated the U.S. Constitution.
After returning to Washington, Trump commented Tuesday on the “good relationship” he’s always had with Newsom, before blaming the governor for the unrest.
“This should never have been allowed to start, and if we didn’t get involved, Los Angeles would be burning down right now,” Trump said, and then made a reference to the deadly wildfires in the Los Angeles area in January. “Just as the houses burned down.”
He said the military is in the city to de-escalate the situation and control what he described as paid “insurrectionists,” “agitators” and “troublemakers.”
“We have a lot of people all over the world watching Los Angeles,” Trump said. “We’ve got the Olympics, so we have this guy allowing this to happen.”
On Monday, Trump said his top border policy advisor Tom Homan should follow through on threats to arrest the governor. Newsom immediately jumped on the comment, comparing the federal administration to an “authoritarian regime.”
“I never thought I’d hear those words. Honestly, Democrat, Republican. Never thought I’d hear those in my lifetime — to threaten a political opponent who happens to be sitting governor,” Newsom said.
California on Tuesday asked a federal court for a temporary restraining order blocking President Trump’s deployment of National Guard forces and Marines in L.A.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) declined to answer a question Tuesday about whether Newsom should be arrested and instead said the governor should be “tarred and feathered.”
Newsom took a shot at Johnson during his address, saying the speaker has “completely abdicated” his responsibility for Congress to serve as a check on the White House. He warned that “other states are next.”
“At this moment, we all need to stand up and be held to account, a higher level of accountability,” Newsom said, imploring protesters to exercise free-speech rights peacefully. “I know many of you are feeling deep anxiety, stress and fear. But I want you to know that you are the antidote to that fear and anxiety.
“What Donald Trump wants most is your fealty. Your silence. To be complicit in this moment. Do not give in to him.”
Times staff writers Andrea Castillo and Laura Nelson and Washington bureau chief Michael Wilner contributed to this report.
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