California Governor Gavin Newsom tore into President Donald Trump’s “unhinged” response to the protests in Los Angeles and suggested that two branches of government are already “lost to Trumpism.”
Newsom didn’t hold back in an interview Monday, where he accused the president of “acting recklessly” after deploying thousands of military personnel in LA in an attempt to clamp down on protests against the administration’s immigration raids. The governor, who announced Monday he is suing the Trump administration for deploying the National Guard, said that he hoped the courts “are still holding firm.”
“He is unhinged, and he’s acting recklessly, and the threat of the Marines coming in the United States, this is a very serious and sober moment. We are going to stand firm,” Newsom told Politico.
“There’s maybe a second branch of government left in this country. We obviously lost the legislative branch to Trump and Trumpism,” Newsom added. “We pray that the courts are still holding firm.”
The Trump administration has deployed 4,000 National Guard troops to assist 700 Marines in battling the protests against his immigration policies in the city. The protests were sparked by ICE deportation raids looking to arrest people in Los Angeles. They have now continued for several days and resulted in vandalism and cops being hurt. Now, Trump is trying to stop them through military and police force.
Newsom is suing Trump in an effort to stop him from taking control of state National Guard units and using them against protesters.
“It’s just an extraordinary moment,” Newsom told Politico. “I don’t want to overstate it, but these are the words of an authoritarian. Whether he acts on it or not, the chill that creates is real, and it’s a serious moment, very serious.”
The governor said the deployment of the Guard has inflamed the situation. The governor warned that Trump’s memorandum leaves open the possibility of using both National Guard and active duty military to quell other protests nationwide.
“It will allow him to go into ANY STATE and do the same thing,” Newsom said, adding: “We’re suing him.”
White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson hit back at the legal threat, accusing Newsom of “feckless leadership” that made him “directly responsible for the lawless riots and violent attacks on law enforcement in Los Angeles.”
“Instead of filing baseless lawsuits meant to score political points with his left-wing base, Newsom should focus on protecting Americans by restoring law and order to his state,” Jackson added.
