California Governor Gavin Newsom went on an anti-Trump tirade at a rally while speaking to his supporters, expressing his outrage over being sent a “Trump 2028” hat as a “gift” by a key MAGA figure, with the governor going on to claim that Trump is a “lawless president” who will attempt to run for a third term.
For background, at a press conference on August 16, 2025, Gov. Newsom spoke to reporters about a proposed plan to push back against the Texas GOP’s proposed congressional map, explaining the plan as an act of “retaliation” that would turn California even more blue by removing five Republican-controlled districts in the state. Moreover, Gov. Newsom ripped into President Trump during the press conference and bemoaned the presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers in downtown Los Angeles.
Weighing in on the presence of ICE officers outside of the press conference, Gov. Newsom said, “Well, I think it’s pretty sick and pathetic.” He went on to add, “And it should tell you everything you need to know about setting that we’re under, that [ICE] chose the time, manner, and place to send their district director outside right when we’re about to have this press conference.”
Continuing his rant, Gov. Newsom said that ICE’s presence at the conference should indicate “everything you know about Donald Trump’s America, and that was top down, you know that for a fact.” He added, “They’ll deny it, I’m sure. Maybe they won’t deny it. Should everything you know about the authoritarian tendencies of the President of the United States, I said in a moment, wake up, America, wake up,”
Taking his anti-Trump rhetoric up a notch, the governor then claimed, “You will have a president who will be running for a third term. Mark my word.” He then recounted with outrage how he was trolled by a key MAGA figure, saying, “I wasn’t exaggerating when I said that I received in the mail a Trump 2028 hat from one of his biggest supporters. These guys are not screwing around.”
Then, Gov. Newsom, referring once again to President Trump, said, “The rules do not apply to him.” He continued, calling Trump “the most corrupt president in history” and saying, “He doesn’t believe in free enterprise [or] crony capitalism. He is wrecking this country, wrecking the economy. He’s a lawless president. Wake up, America. Wake up to what’s going on.”
Furthermore, on August 17, 2025, KTVU reported that Gov. Newsom had filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to find out why ICE agents were sent to his press conference. The governor said in a press release announcing the request, “Trump’s use of the military and federal law enforcement to try to intimidate his political opponents is yet another dangerous step toward authoritarianism.”
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Moreover, Gov. Newsom said that the president “is attempting to advance a playbook from the despots he admires in Russia and North Korea,” adding, “We will not back down in our defense of democratic freedom, and the Trump administration should answer for this pathetic and cowardly behavior.”
Watch Gov. Newsom’s rant:
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