California Governor Gavin Newsom has resorted to name-calling President Donald Trump after he took decisive federal action to restore order in Los Angeles.
Specifically, Newsom called the president a “stone cold liar” and questioned his mental fitness, suggesting the president’s age might be affecting his memory.
“He lied, he lied. On my mother and dad’s grave. I don’t mess around, when I say this, he lied. Stone cold liar,” the Democrat governor asserted.
The new verbal confrontation comes as California’s leadership appears more concerned with protecting illegal aliens than public safety.
In a bold move to address escalating protests over immigration enforcement in Los Angeles, President Trump federalized 2,000 California National Guard troops.
Many of these troops were redirected from duties like wildfire prevention to maintain public order amid violent anti-ICE protests.
This rare executive action came despite objections from Newsom, who has fought to maintain California’s controversial sanctuary policies that shield illegal aliens from deportation.
The California governor denies receiving any communication about the National Guard deployment before it happened.
The deployment came as protests threatened to spiral out of control in Los Angeles, with President Trump stating his actions prevented the city from “burning to the ground.”
The president has made border security and immigration enforcement central priorities of his administration, contrasting sharply with California’s resistance to federal immigration policies.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem suggested that the protesters might be funded by outside organizations such as NGOs or unions, raising questions about coordinated opposition to federal immigration enforcement.
Meanwhile, Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA) was forcibly removed from a press conference after barging in unannounced to question Secretary Noem.
Newsom’s dramatic response to President Trump’s actions included claims that the deployment was “illegal” and “unconstitutional,” despite the president’s clear constitutional authority as Commander-in-Chief.
The governor went so far as to suggest that the president’s call for his arrest represented “an unmistakable step toward authoritarianism.”
Los Angeles area mayors have urged the Trump administration to withdraw troops and halt immigration raids.
The conflict illustrates the ongoing tension between federal authority and states that refuse to cooperate with immigration enforcement.
The protests have now spread beyond Los Angeles to other cities, and immigration enforcement has extended to California’s agricultural areas.
While Newsom condemns the federal action as “theater” and “madness,” many Americans see it as necessary enforcement.
As protests continue and more arrests are made, the fundamental question remains whether states have the right to obstruct federal immigration law or if the federal government has the authority to enforce those laws despite local opposition.
For now, President Trump has made it clear that no sanctuary policy will prevent his administration from fulfilling its duty to enforce the nation’s immigration laws.
