California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) is meeting the moment, Democrats say.
Amid the growing storm over the Trump administration’s response to protests of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids, which hit a new crescendo Thursday when officials put Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) in handcuffs, Newsom is doing what his party wants.
He’s punching back, and he’s going on offense.
“While it’s been a horrible week for the country, Gov. Newsom has been a credible voice of so many people’s discontent and anxiety about Trump’s America,” said Democratic strategist Jamal Simmons. “Democrats want people who can take on Donald Trump, and he is seen as someone who has been taking him on.”
The ICE raids in Los Angeles, the biggest city in Newsom’s state, had the possibility of becoming political quicksand for the California governor.
Trump on Saturday sent in the National Guard without Newsom’s consent, amid images of burning cars and masked protesters. Trump justified the decision by arguing that things were going out of control on Newsom’s watch; Newsom and Democrats argued he deliberately provoked a larger confrontation and escalated the situation.
There was some risk to Newsom’s decision to fight Trump, who maintains a number of protesters were breaking the law and sees both immigration and law and order as strong issues on which to batter Democrats.
But so far, it has been far from a disaster for Newsom, who seems to be winning more support.
And the video of Padilla being forced to the ground and handcuffed by officers after seeking to ask a question to Department of Homeland Security Kristi Noem gives he and other Democrats new images to use against the White House.
It feeds into the argument that Trump is going too far.
Democratic strategist Basil Smikle said Newsom has been good at framing Trump’s actions as a “massive overreaction and abuse of authority.”
And the fight comes as many Democrats have been frustrated with a party they see as too cowed by Trump.
“When voters say they want a fight, this is what they’re referring to — even as Trump threatens Newsom’s arrest,” Smikle said.
Newsom has spoken directly to the public in speeches, interviews, and off-the-cuff remarks. He is slapping Trump on the social platform X. He is even using Taylor Swift lyrics on TikTok to get under Trump’s skin.
“This is what Gavin does best,” said one longtime ally of the California governor. “He is absolutely unapologetic about getting up in someone’s face and calling out their weaknesses. That’s why he’s so effective in going after Trump and MAGA Republicans.”
Some Democrats had soured on Newsom earlier this year.
After he launched a podcast, for example, he received scrutiny for playing host to the likes of Steve Bannon, the Trump loyalist, and Charlie Kirk, the conservative activist.
It looked to many as if Newsom was trying to position himself as more of centrist while turning his back on his party.
Democratic strategist Eddie Vale said while Newsom’s current “posture” could do well in the Democratic primary should he run for president, a bigger question looms.
“The question is will this be the version of Newsom who shows up or the one who was hosting right wing podcasters a few weeks ago?” Vale said.
He was also seen as trying to cozy up to Trump on the heels of the catastrophic wildfires that ravaged parts of Southern California earlier this year. It came at a time when other Democrats including fellow governors, like JB Pritzker of Illinois, said Democrats should oppose Trump at all costs.
“Never before in my life have I called for mass protests, for mobilization, for disruption,” Pritzker said in April. “But I am now.”
Democrats have criticized Newsom for being too focused on his political prospects while as one put it, “missing the boat on issues important back home.”
“There’s a criticism of him that he always has his eyes on the next thing,” one strategist said.
But Democrats — even those who have rolled their eyes at Newsom in recent months — say they appreciate the tone he has taken in standing up to Trump on the call-up of the National Guard and his over-the-top immigration policies.
In a speech on Tuesday, Newsom was blunt: “What Donald Trump wants most is your fealty. Your silence. To be complicit in this moment,” he said during his speech. “Do not give it to him.”
“If some of us can be snatched off the streets without a warrant — based only on suspicion or skin color — then none of us are safe,” he said. “Authoritarian regimes begin by targeting people who are least able to defend themselves, but they do not stop there.”
“This is about all of us. This is about you,” he continued. “California may be first — but it clearly won’t end there. Other states are next. Democracy is next.”
Garry South, a longtime Democratic strategist in California who served as a senior adviser to Newsom during his first bid for governor, said while the speech was effective, the most palpable moment for Newsom this week was when he egged on Trump’s border czar Tom Homan this week and said to come arrest him.
“[It] had Democrats all over doing high-fives and fist bumps,” he said.
It’s the kind of confidence that Simmons said would go a long way should Newsom decide to run for president in 2028.
“Courage and confidence are going to be large markers in the 2028 race,” he said, adding that Newsom has proven to have both.
And of all the would-be candidates, Simmons added, Newsom’s name has come up the most by those outside of the political class, “unsolicited and unprompted.”
“He’s got a reputation out there for being a courageous Democrat,” he said.
