Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom warned that Donald J. Trump has no intentions of leaving office when his term ends, and he’s not wrong. On Tuesday, for example, Trump said about deploying the National Guard to Chicago: “I have the right to do anything I want to do. I’m the president of the United States.” Trump thinks he can do whatever he wants, and even though that’s not how the presidency works in a democracy, Donald has no guardrails. With Republicans holding the Senate and Congress, no one with real power is willing to call him out, even after he has repeatedly mentioned the word “dictator,” as if it’s one of his lifetime goals.
And Heather Honey, a protege of Cleta Mitchell, a high-profile election denier of Trump’s loss in the 2020 election, has been appointed to a senior “election integrity” position in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
The fix is in, and Newsom sees it. Newsom called out federal immigration officials for acting as “the largest private police force in history” during Politico’s “The California Agenda: Sacramento Summit” on Wednesday.
“When they’re done with this — all that funding and that ‘big beautiful betrayal’ allows more resources for this private police force that increasingly is showing a tendency not to swear an oath to the Constitution, but to the president of the United States,” Newsom said.
The California Governor said “the rule of law is being replaced by the rule of Don,” and predicted federal agents would be sent to voting booths and polling places across the country. However, he also questioned whether there would be future democratic elections at all.
“I don’t think Donald Trump wants another election,” he said, adding he has two dozen “Trump 2028″ hats sent to him by Trump fans.
He went on to note Trump’s desire to serve a third term.
Trump said this month he would “probably not” run for a third term, which would violate the Constitution; however, the fact that the president would even mention such a possibility is jarring.
Newsom urged Democrats to “stand tall” against Trump. “‘Given the choice, the American people always support strong and wrong versus weak or not,’” Newsom recalled former President Bill Clinton saying on the rise of American populism. “And I think our party needs to wake up.”
“We’re losing this country in real time,” he said. “It’s not bloviation, not exaggeration. It’s happening.”
He’s not wrong, and if you don’t see it, then you aren’t paying attention.
