President Donald Trump on Monday doubled down on his threat to arrest California Governor Gavin Newsom — not for breaking any law, but simply for being in office.
“I think his primary crime is running for governor because he’s done such a bad job,” Trump said when asked directly what crime Newsom had committed.
Speaking from the White House State Dining Room, Trump slammed Newsom over California’s handling of wildfires and immigration.
“You have a governor who let the city burn down, didn’t want water to be sent down to him,” Trump said, referring to January’s wildfires. “I mean, I sent billions of gallons of water. I wanted to do it in the first term. He wouldn’t do it over. I don’t know, they have environmental reasons, but there were no environmental reasons. It’s, I think it’s just a political philosophy.”
Trump also blamed Newsom for California’s immigration issues. “Thousands, hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants, many of them prisoners, they’re taking up your healthcare, they’re taking up your space in schools, they’re taking up your hospital. And in many cases, they’re criminals,” he said. “And we have to do something about it. And we’re doing something about.”
Pressed again on what actual crime Newsom had committed, Trump stuck to his line: “What crime has he committed? I think his primary crime is running for governor because he’s done such a bad job.”
Newsom fired back on social media after seeing Trump’s comments. Sharing the video clip, he wrote on X: “Donald Trump admits he will arrest a sitting governor simply because he ran for office.”
Earlier that day, Newsom dared Trump’s former ICE chief Tom Homan — now Trump’s so-called “border czar” — to come arrest him.
Trump’s remarks have been widely fact-checked, with multiple media outlets pointing out false or misleading claims about wildfires, water policy, and immigration.
Watch the full exchange below via the Associated Press.
