Newsom takes on Trump, rising in Democratic eyes – at least for now
A few hours after the deadly shooter of the conservative activist Charlie Kirk, the governor of California, Gavin Newsom, published a dark denunciation of violence as “disgusting, vile and reprehensible”. It was a step back compared to the governor’s implacable attacks against the Trump administration, part of a several -component rebellion which attracted Mr. Newsom a wave of national attention.
From his Californian perch, the governor directed the challenges on the agenda of President Donald Trump, who had an impact on the Golden State – notably on immigration, the domestic use of the American army and the redistribution of the Congress. At the same time, he amplified his attack on social networks, taunting Mr. Trump and his Loyalists Maga. The tone resonates beyond California: a recent survey by Emerson College shows Mr. Newsom leading among the candidates for the presidential appointment in 2028 of the Democratic Party.
In February, the governor welcomed Mr. Kirk for his inaugural podcast – the first of a line of Maga personalities to join Mr. Newsom for the conversations that he hoped would fill political cleavages. Now explains the conservative strategist Rob Stutzman, the governor has a new strategy.
Why we wrote this
Gavin Newsom’s direct challenges to President Donald Trump on immigration application and redistribution, associated with a clearer tone on social networks, position him as a test for candidates for the Democratic presidential election in search of the mixture of message and politics that could win the appointment of their party.
“The circumstances have changed. An opportunity came to him and the request in his party resisted the resistance, ”explains Mr. Stutzman, Trump and his redesign of the government. “It’s a metamorph.”
Experts say that Mr. Newsom recognizes how to capture the economy of attention, and his increase in popularity reveals democratic hunger for someone who can effectively respect President Trump.
Mr. Newsom is part of a group of governors seeking to fill a gap in party leadership. His break in the field emerges as a test case for other presidential hopes looking for the combination of policies and messages that could give Democrats a chance to win the White House in 2028.
The governor’s style and its popularity mark a change of attitude among the voters, explains the Democratic strategist Kevin Liao.
“People are distinguished between the policy of the past, when you could operate more passively and everything will be fine,” explains Mr. Liao.
While the president focuses on other cities and states – sending national guard troops to Washington, DC, and announcing a similar plan for Memphis – Mr. Newsom has established a model to answer “on behalf of your voters, but also how to take advantage of it for your political aspirations”, adds Mr. Liao.
A challenge for troops at the
A key to Governor Newsom, said Mr. Stutzman, “is that he did not have to make a conflict with Trump. It is not artificial.”
California, with more residents born abroad than any other state, was a center of the overhaul of the Trump administration immigration policy. In June, Trump ordered the state’s own national guard to occupy parties of Los Angeles.
This power game has delighted the governor’s forces. “Gavin Newsom can be a fairly effective fighter on certain questions, and I think that is when you saw him start again in this context,” explains Lori Cox Han, president of Doy B. Henley of American presidential studies at Chapman University.
Shortly after the arrival of the National Guard, California continued the administration for the federalization of the troops in order to execute civil law enforcement in violation of the posse comitatus act. Earlier this month, a federal judge agreed with the state, but the Trump administration is attractive. (The troops were allowed to stay, although most were sent home in July and August.)
This court decision was closely monitored by others.
In August, after Mr. Trump sent troops to Washington, the attorney general of the Columbia district continued the administration using the same argument that California had successfully raised. However, the president said that he could send the National Guard to other cities led by Democrats such as Chicago and Baltimore. The governors of these states have rejected, in part affirming that such a decision would be unconstitutional.
These confrontations allow new voices to offer new solutions, explains Shana Kushner Gadarian, professor of political science at the University of Syracuse. And the governors are able to obtain national consequences in a way that the members of the Congress could not.
“They have their own constituencies that they are there to represent, but they also have the capacity to capture the attention of the media and to be very clear and energetic, because they do not have to face Trump in the arena of the development of Washington policies,” said Dr. Gadarian.
Mr. Newsom, a limited term governor, takes advantage of his best options to win a political traction before leaving his duties in a year and a half, said Stutzman. “I think he has capitalized on [the circumstances] Until now, superbly in order to embark on the supreme position of the leader at this stage. »»
A response to the redistribution of Texas
In response to the efforts to rediscover the republican states to strengthen the party’s grip at Congress, Mr. Newsom has gone through a special election to allow his state, a democratic power, to redraw his own districts. In case of success, California could compensate for conservative gains in Texas.
Proposal 50, which would temporarily change the California congress card, is faced with the opposition for replacing the state independent redistribution process. But this could have a significant impact on national policy, and Mr. Newsom calls on donors on a national scale with a high -level fundraising campaign.
It builds its national campaign infrastructure, explains Mr. Stutzman. This support comes back to the governor even if the 50 proposal loses, he adds.
If the redistribution succeeds and that California and sends more democrats to the Congress, Governor Newsom can say that he has strengthened the power of the party, explains Dr. Han. “This is his argument for:” I made something successful to stop Trump, stop these Republicans Maga. “”
On social networks, a new story
Earlier this summer, Mr. Newsom and his team overloaded his momentum with a passing to sharper social messages, imitating the style of combative publication of Mr. Trump. The Governor’s Instagram increased 30% in the last month, to more than 3 million followers. And his office told Politico that the governor’s campaign accounts had won nearly 3 million followers across X, Tiktok, Sublack and Instagram.
Mr. Newsom reflects the irreverent tone of President Trump and the use of AI self-aggregation images, writing in all the ceilings and the publication of memes that make fun of the president and the Maga. These all-caps messages on X have seen clear spikes in sharing, according to an analysis of the Washington Post.
“Newsom has obtained memo,” said Steven Fish, professor of political science at the University of California in Berkeley, whose book “Comeback” explores political domination. “It is a question of having a story and dominating the conversation. It is not a question of knowing who has the best facts, the most attractive policies.”
The governor, says Dr. Fish, changes the way people see the style of the president, who first seemed “absurd … but then people got used to it. What Newsom is doing is renovating these things. “
For Democrats, who can win in 28?
The establishment of a strong voice that crosses the noise of politically polarized rhetoric is crucial for the success of any candidate, say the experts, even more than political files as substances. This is particularly true for Democrats, who try to dig up the lowest notes of favorability for one or the other of the parties in three decades.
This type of combativeness, well done, recognizes high issues and gives candidate authenticity, explains Dr. Kushner.
Mr. Newsom’s political objectives come with luggage because he was mayor of the far left of San Francisco and now directs a liberal state. Even democratic voters were skeptical: in the Emerson survey where he now leads, Mr. Newsom traced Pete Buttigieg and Kamala Harris three months ago.
His new brand image has led more people to rethink his eligibility, explains Mr. Liao, the Democratic consultant. But “these spots at the top can be short-lived,” he says.
Maintaining this offense takes on endurance, and with three years to travel until the next presidential election, there is a lot of time for someone else to go under the spotlight.
“Newsom sees a moment,” says Liao. But ultimately, what this main electorate is going to look at is who can win. “
