Newsom-Trump clash over LA protests may boost governor’s Democrat appeal

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is getting hammered by President Donald Trump, his allies, and others on the right – but his address to the nation will likely boost his deflated image among many fellow Democrats.

Newsom, speaking in a prime-time address following days of rioting in Los Angeles sparked by immigration raids carried out by ICE at the Trump administration’s direction, appeared to elevate himself as leader of the anti-Trump movement.

California’s two-term governor, who is considered a potential contender for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination due to his clear national ambitions, once again denounced Trump’s deployment of over 2,000 National Guard troops and some 700 U.S. Marines to the streets of the nation’s second-most populous city. 

But Newsom’s message wasn’t just for residents of blue-state California.

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“This isn’t just about protests here in Los Angeles,” Newsom declared in his address. “This is about all of us. This is about you. 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.”

The governor stepped up to the plate with his party aiming to escape the political wilderness following last November’s punishing election setbacks – as Democrats lost control of the White House and Senate and fell short of winning back the House majority – and looking for leaders to push back against Trump’s sweeping and controversial moves. And Newsom, with his address, appeared to signal that he’s one of the party leaders ready to spearhead the fight.

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“He is fighting back, going toe to toe with Trump, and Democrats and the country are noticing,” veteran strategist Maria Cardona, a DNC committee member, told Fox News.

Newsom’s address followed days of verbal crossfire between himself and Trump, after the president broke six decades of precedent by federalizing California’s National Guard without the consent of the governor.

The governor and California’s attorney genearl are legally pushing back against Trump, with the Democratic National Committee (DNC) taking to social media to spotlight the move.

And Newsom personalized the conflict by daring the Trump administration to follow through on a threat by Tom Homan, the president’s muscular border czar, to arrest him.

“In a time where there are broad concerns about the failure of Democrats to fully embrace their roles as the vocal opposition party, Gov. Gavin Newsom has found his voice,” longtime political scientist Wayne Lesperance told Fox News.

Lesperance, president of New Hampshire-based New England College, noted that Tuesday’s “speech pushing back against the administration’s enhanced immigration tactics and deployment of the National Guard and the Marines for law enforcement purposes has propelled Newsom to the forefront of the opposition to Donald Trump.”

Cardona argued that “Newsom has done a terrific job standing up for California in the midst of an unprecedented attack by its own federal government and the President of the United States. He’s done two things extraordinarily well: he has been unequivocal in his condemnation of any violence and in his support of local law-enforcement. And secondly, he has fully supported California’s immigrant communities as they have been the backbone of the state’s economy and they are deserving of respect, decency, humanity, and due process.”

Trump doesn’t see it that way.

“The INCOMPETENT Governor of California was unable to provide protection in a timely manner when our Ice Officers, GREAT Patriots they are, were attacked by an out of control mob of agitators, troublemakers, and/or insurrectionists,” the president charged Wednesday morning on social media.

And Trump said that “if our troops didn’t go into Los Angeles, it would be burning to the ground right now.”

The president’s comments from the Oval Office on Tuesday and his Wednesday posts on his Truth Social platform were accompanied by a series of blasts at Newsom by top White House aides and other administration officials, and the mocking of the governor for technical glitches in the live feed of his address.

While the current crisis in many ways forces Democrats to play defense on Trump’s strongest issues – immigration and border security, and law and order – it gives Newsom a chance to do some damage repair with many Democrats.

Newsom angered many on the left in March when he declared it was “deeply unfair” for transgender athletes to participate in girls’ sports.

And his invitation to top MAGA leaders, such as Charlie Kirk and Steve Bannon, who joined the governor on the initial episodes of his new podcast in a search for common ground following last year’s elections, also damaged Newsom’s image among some Democrats.

With some of the potential 2028 Democratic presidential nomination contenders already making moves and visiting some of the crucial early-voting states, Trump’s attacks on the governor may be handing Newsom a political gift.

“Ironically, President Trump’s hammering of Newsom may actually help the California governor enhance his position among party faithful and any potential 2028 voter looking for a candidate unafraid to go head-to-head against the administration,” Lesperance noted. “Looking ahead, the question becomes whether or not Newsom can sustain himself in this new role.”