'High-stakes game': Trump-Newsom clash pits two political heavyweights
Their rivalry goes back years. Now, Trump says Newsom should be arrested and the California governor is suing the feds.
Protesters clashing with authorities in the streets of Los Angeles. U.S. Marines and National Guard troops deployed. A lawsuit. The president suggesting the governor of the nation’s largest state should be arrested.
The spring of 2025 is ushering in one of the biggest showdowns of Donald Trump’s second term, as the president and California Gov. Gavin Newsom engage in a battle of political heavyweights.
The conflict has major implications as Newsom warns Trump is acting like a “dictator” by deploying California National Guard troops without the governor’s consent, and the president insists he’s trying to keep the peace amid growing unrest over his immigration policies and that Democratic state leaders should be put behind bars if they obstruct the federal government.
“This is a high-stakes game,” said Sonoma State University political science professor David McCuan.
At the center of the battle are two men who may be diametrically opposed politically but share the same leading-man energy, creating a made-for-Hollywood conflict set in the entertainment capital of the world. The Trump-Newsom relationship – long and often acrimonious, but lately less so – is now moving to a new level of public confrontation that has the nation on edge.
After Trump border czar Tom Homan said that anyone – including Newsom – who obstructs immigration officials will be arrested, Newsom dared Homan to follow through. Trump also weighed in June 9 upon his return to the White House from a weekend out of Washington, D.C., saying “I would do it … I think it’s great.”
The same day, California’s attorney general said he’s coordinating with Newsom on a lawsuit against the Trump administration over the National Guard deployment in L.A., the first time since the 1960s that a president has deployed a state’s guard without the governor’s approval.
How 2028 factors into Trump vs. Newsom in 2025
Amid concerns that the situation in the nation's most populous state - and it's second largest city - could spiral out of control, the potential political fallout also could be significant.
Trump is determined to deliver on a campaign promise of mass deportations, and he is ratcheting up the stakes with measures that are testing his legal authority. He also pledged a “law and order” presidency and has seized on immigration protests happening nationwide to make a statement.
Newsom, meanwhile, is widely viewed as a likely 2028 Democratic presidential candidate and has been trying to find his footing on the national stage, and in how he positions himself in relation to Trump. Arresting Newsom could actually boost his Democratic bonafides, McCuan said, making him a "political star" for Democrats.
“Democrats are looking for who's going to be the next fighter,” said California State University Long Beach political science professor Matt Lesenyie.
Trump's four indictments and arrests during the 2024 campaign helped him raise money and rally supporters around him. Reminded of how he used his criminal cases to mount a winning White House run, the president dismissed the idea that his fight with Newsom - and a potential arrest that comes with a mug shot - could elevate the governor.
"I don't think it's going to help him, I think it's actually very bad for him," Trump told reporters during an event at the White House.
L.A. wildfires and airport embraces
Trump and Newsom have feuded for years, most recently over California's response to devastating wildfires around Los Angeles. Frequently referring to Newsom as "Newscum," Trump has threatened to withhold federal wildfire aid, and more recently his administration has been weighing a broader cut to the state’s federal funding, according to media reports. The governor has portrayed the president as a “bully.”
Yet there also have been friendly moments.
When Trump flew to California shortly after his inauguration to tour wildfire damage, Newsom met him at the airport and they embraced. Newsom said Trump was “there for us during COVID” and Trump promised to help the state recover from the fires.
Newsom – who rose to political prominence as mayor of liberal San Francisco and then as the state's lieutenant governor - has tried to reposition himself since Trump’s 2024 election. The 57-year-old Democrat started a podcast that has featured interviews with influential MAGA figures. During one of those conversations with conservative activist Charlie Kirk, Newsom said allowing transgender athletes in girls' and women's sports is "deeply unfair."
On June 7, after protests erupted outside a Los Angeles immigration center, Newsom and Trump spoke on the phone. The governor described it in an MSNBC interview as “a very decent conversation” while also calling Trump a "liar."
"He never once brought up the National Guard," Newsom said. "He's a stone-cold liar. He said he did."
On June 9, even as he bashed Newsom’s response to the protests, Trump said during the event at the White House that “I like him, I always got along with him.”
That relationship eventually could help de-escalate the situation, said McCuan.
“The good news is that the governor and the president talk to each other… that allows the situation to be defused,” he said.
Yet Lesenyie warned that both men could have a difficult time backing down. Trump has yet to cement his policies into legislation and may see the conflict in Los Angeles as a way to score a political victory, he said, while the fight could end up being a big part of any Newsom presidential campaign.
“Both are desperate,” Lesenyie said, adding: “Trump is desperate for a win… Newsom actually has to campaign on this next time.”
Contributing: Joey Garrison