President Donald Trump and Democratic Governor California Gavin Newsom were involved in a fierce battle over the handling of protests against immigration and adat enforcement that continued in Los Angeles – and both also framed their confrontation in familiar political terms.
On Monday, the president said it would be a “great thing” if Toman Homan’s border tsar captured Newsom; In response, Governor of California fired again That the comment is “a step that is no longer wrong towards authoritarianism.”
In a sign of how much politics encouraged the confrontation, Trump, when asked on Monday afternoon by ABC News what Crime Newsom did to guarantee his arrest, Trump said “The main crime of the governor nominates himself as governor because he did a bad job.” Newsom responds to x“Donald Trump admitted that he would arrest the governor who was sitting only because he nominated himself for his position.”
With protest, Trump, who has characterized them as “cruel rebels” and “Gavin Newscum inspired riots,” Has mobilized members of the National Guard to Los Angeles. Newsom has asked administration to cancel the placement and said on Monday that he sued the Trump government, claiming Trump illegally led the national guards.
But Trump not only criticized the protesters – he also detonated the democratic leaders of the state and city as a failure.
President Donald Trump spoke to the media when he arrived at the White House, June 9, 2025 in Washington.
Shawn Thew/Epa-Efe/Shutterstock
“The governor is very incompetent, ‘Gavin Newscum, and’ Mayor, ‘Karen Bass, must say,’ Thank you, President Trump, you are extraordinary. We will not be anything without you, Mr., ‘” Trump Write on its social media platform on Monday. “Instead, they chose to lie to California and Americans by saying that we are not needed, and that this is ‘peace protest.'”
Trump has long criticized leadership in most states managed by Democrats, often focused his anger on California.
The situation, separately, gave Trump the opportunity to take high profile action on the enforcement of the main immigration for the President during the 2024 campaign and who remained a priority for the first few months of his government. A Latest Polling from Marquette Law School Taken at the beginning to mid -May found that Trump had positive approval or around work at border security and immigration.
Newsom, in the end, explicitly accused the White House of worsening the situation for political benefits.
“They want a spectacle. They want violence,” he said in an email to supporters sent through his political action committee on Sunday night. “They think this is good for them politically.”
The White House responded to ABC news requests for Monday afternoon comments.
“The leadership of Feckless Gavin Newsom is directly responsible for riots without law and violence against law enforcement in Los Angeles.
Newsom and Trump have long been at odds, although both have a short detente in their relationship in recent months.
After a forest fire in January which destroyed the Los Angeles region, Trump visited the city towards the end of the month and was welcomed on the foundation by Newsom with several handshakes and hugs; Newsom Also Meet with Trump In Washington in early February, and told CNN after that, “I have all the trust in the world that it will be a strong partnership to move forward.”
California Governor Gavin Newsom announced the planned literacy of the Golden state and distributing literacy coaches throughout the state, at the Clinton Elementary School in Compton, California, 5 June 2025.
Daniel Cole/Reuters
But newsom, around that time, also approved $ 50 million For funds that can be used in legal battles against federal government.
And Newsom grew more critical of Trump in a few months after – attacking the presidential tariff policy In advertising It was aired on Fox News where he said “Rates punish the family.”
Trump’s government has also directed punishment in California. Earlier this month, Trump vowed to force “large scale fines” in California after a transgender teenager competed in the final competition of the California state on the track and the field. Last week, Trump’s government hinted that they would cut federal funds for high -speed railroad projects in the state.
Newsom, separately, has begun to build a national profile amid speculation that he can run for president in 2028, which includes triggering more speculation through the launch of Podcast Buzzy in March. Newsom is limited in terms and cannot run for governor in 2026.
While the situation of Los Angeles is related to the current news of Newsom as governor and not in the current or future campaign, it puts it back in the national spotlight and at the center of one of the highest political problems in the country.
Newsom refers to what he’s frame as a national bet in his response to Trump’s comments about the potential of his arrest: “This is a day that I hope I will never see in America … This is a line that we cannot pass as a nation.”
ABC News’ Molly Nagle and Michelle Stoddart contributed to this report.