California Gov. Gavin Newsom accused Donald Trump of “taking a wrecking ball” to democracy and urged Americans to “stand up” against him in a new video that shows the Democrat fashioning himself as the leader of a nationwide resistance to the president.
“This is about all of us, this is about you,” Newsom said in the video released June 10. “California may be first, but it clearly will not end here. Other states are next. Democracy is next. Democracy is under assault before our eyes. This moment we have feared has arrived.”
Newsom, widely viewed as a 2028 candidate for president, has clashed with Trump over the president’s decision to order California National Guard troops and U.S. Marines onto the streets of Los Angeles after violent protests against immigration enforcement efforts. Trump federalized the Guard over Newsom’s objection, prompting California to file a lawsuit.
Trump insisted the move was needed to maintain order.
“If we didn’t get involved, right now Los Angeles would be burning,” Trump said June 10 in the Oval Office.
