Above is an 8 minute video of California Governor Gavin Newsom’s address to Californians in response to convicted felon, adjudicated sexual abuser and U.S. President Donald Trump’s assault on democracy and illegal militarization of Los Angeles. A full transcript of his statement is below.
Gov. Newsom says Trump is destroying democracy, that his order to federalize the national guard didn’t just apply to California. It applied to all other states in the nation, and other states are next.
ABC News reported on June 10 that “There are now more U.S. troops deployed to Los Angeles than in Iraq and Syria. There are 4,800 activated Guard and Marine personnel in L.A., compared to the 2,500 troops in Iraq and 1,500 in Syria.”
Below is the transcript of Gov. Newsom’s address:
“I want to say a few words about the events of the last few days. This past weekend federal agents conducted large-scale workplace raids in and around Los Angeles. Those raids continue as I speak. California is no stranger to immigration enforcement, but instead of focusing on undocumented immigrants with serious criminal records and people with final deportation orders, a strategy both parties have long supported, this administration is pushing mass deportations, indiscriminately targeting hard-working immigrant families regardless of their roots or risk. What’s happening right now is very different than anything we’ve seen before. On Saturday morning, when federal agents jumped out of an unmarked van near a Home Depot parking lot, they began grabbing people. A deliberate targeting of a heavily Latino suburb. A similar scene played out when a clothing company was raided downtown. In other actions, a U.S. citizen 9 months pregnant was arrested. A four-year-old girl taken. Families separated. Friends quite literally disappearing.In response, everyday Angelinos came out to exercise their constitutional right to free speech and assembly to protest their government’s actions. In turn the state of California and the city and county of Los Angeles sent our police officers to help keep the peace, and with some exceptions they were successful. Like many states, California is no stranger to this sort of unrest. We manage it regularly, and with our own law enforcement. But this again was different. What then ensued was a use of tear gas, flash-bang grenades, rubber bullets, federal agents detaining people and undermining their due process rights. Donald Trump, without consulting California law enforcement leaders, commandeered 2,000 of our state’s National Guard members to deploy on our streets, illegally and for no reason. This brazen abuse of power by a sitting president inflamed a combustible situationputting our people, our officers and even our National Guard at risk. That’s when the downward spiral began.
He doubled down on his dangerous National Guard deployment by fanning the flames even harder. And the president, he did it on purpose. As the news spread throughout L.A., anxiety for family and friends ramped up. Protests started again. By night several dozen law breakers became violent and destructive. They vandalized property. They tried to assault police officers. Many of you have seen the video clips of cars burning on cable news. If you incite violence — I want to be clear about this — if you incite violence or destroy our communities, you’re going to be held to account. That kind of criminal behavior will not be tolerated, full stop. Already more than 220 people have been arrested and we’re reviewing tapes to build additional cases, and people will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Again, thanks to our law enforcement officers and the majority of Angelinos who protested peacefully, this situation was winding down and was concentrated in just a few square blocks downtown. But that’s not what Donald Trump wanted. He again chose escalation. He chose more force. He chose theatrics over public safety. He federalized another 2,000 Guard members. He deployed more than 700 active U.S. Marines. These are the men and women trained for foreign combat, not domestic law enforcement. We honor their service. We honor their bravery. But we do not want our streets militarized by our own armed forces. Not in L.A., not in California, not anywhere.We’re seeing unmarked cars in school parking lots, kids afraid of attending their own graduation. Trump is pulling a military dragnet all across Los Angeles, well beyond his stated intent to just go after violent and serious criminals. His agents are arresting dishwashers, gardeners, day laborers and seamstresses. That’s just weakness, weakness masquerading as strength. Donald Trump’s government isn’t protecting our communities. They’re traumatizing our communities, and that seems to be the entire point.California will keep fighting. We’ll keep fighting on behalf of all of our people, including in the courts. Just yesterday, we filed a legal challenge to Donald Trump’s reckless deployment of American troops to a major American city. Today, we sought an emergency court order to stop the use of the American military to engage in law enforcement activities across Los Angeles. If some of us could be snatched off the streets without a warrant, based only on suspicion or skin color, then none of us are safe. Authoritarian regimes begin by targeting people who are least able to defend themselves, but they do not stop there. Trump and his loyalists, they thrive on division because it allows them to take more power and exert even more control. And by the way, Trump is not opposed to lawlessness and violence as long as it serves him. What more evidence do we need than January 6th? I ask everyone to take time reflect on this perilous moment: A president who wants to be bound by no law or constitution, perpetuating a unified assault on American traditions. This is a president who in just over 140 days has fired government watchdogs that could hold him accountable, accountable for corruption and fraud. He’s declared a war on culture, on
history, on science, on knowledge itself. Databases quite literally are vanishing. He’s delegitimizing news organizations, and he’s assaulting the First Amendment. He’s dictating what universities themselves can teach. He’s targeting law firms and the judicial branch that are the foundations of an orderly and civil society. He’s calling for a sitting governor to be arrested for no other reason than, in his own words, “for getting elected.” And we all know this Saturday he’s ordering our American heroes in the United States military — forcing them to put on a vulgar display to celebrate his birthday, just as other failed dictators have done in the past.
Look, this this isn’t just about protests here in Los Angeles. When Donald Trump sought blanket authority to commandeer the National Guard, he made that order apply to every state in this nation. This is about all of us. This is about you. California may be first, but it clearly will not end here. Other states are next.Democracy is next. Democracy is under assault before our eyes. This moment we have feared has arrived. He’s taking a wrecking ball to our founding father’s historic project: Three co-equal branches of independent government. There no longer any checks and balances. Congress is nowhere to be found. Speaker Johnson has completely abdicated that responsibility. The rule of law has increasingly been given way to the rule of dawn. The founding fathers, they didn’t live and die to see this kind of moment. It’s time for all of us to stand up. Justice Brandies said it best. In a democracy, the most important office with all due respect, Mr. President, is not the presidency. And it’s certainly not governor. The most important office is the office of Citizen. At this moment, we all need to stand up and be held to a higher level of accountability. If you exercise your first amendment rights please, please do it peacefully. I know many of you are are feeling deep anxiety, stress and fear. But I want you to know that you are the antidote to that fear and that anxiety. What Donald Trump wants most is your fealty, your silence to be complicit in this moment. Do not give in to him.”
“A US appeals court has ruled that President Donald Trump can keep control of National Guard troops he deployed to Los Angeles, despite objections from city leaders and California Governor Gavin Newsom.”
I wonder if Anne, Newsom, Bass or anyone on MSNBC will make a comment about this. Such a lot of chest beating and outrage and it all comes down to this.
Trump was right.
I’m eagerly awaiting the next big outrage.
From dictionary.com:
fascism: a governmental system led by a dictator having complete power, forcibly suppressing opposition and criticism, regimenting all industry, commerce, etc., and emphasizing an aggressive nationalism and often racism.
Keep cheering, harry.
You should check your AI opinion generator.
I think it’s stuck on stupid.
Right, because anyone who disagrees with you must be stupid, right? There’s no possibility you could be the stupid one. You look at both sides.
We really need an eyeroll emoji.
You didn’t disagree with me. There was nothing to disagree with. Trump prevailed.
But, I suppose because you’re butt hurt, you posted a definition of facism.
Yes, that’s stupid.
What’s stupid is you not recognizing where this is going.
We’ve tried to tell you, but you’d rather cheer for the wanna-be facist dictator as he tramples people’s rights and destroys our democracy. Where is the line? What can Trump do that will finally get you to say “that’s too far?” Is there one? It’s starting to look like you’ll swallow whatever BS he shovels out without a second thought. If he cancels the mid-term elections because of the “immigrant invasion” will that be too much for you? I’m genuinely curious.
I doubt you’re genuinely curious and I’ve pretty much already told you how I “feel” about Trump.
I could tell you a hundred times when your side has done things which i consider “undemocratic” but then you’d say I was engaging in “whaaboutism”.
I think the left’s reaction to Trump is pure politics. You lost and you’re having a temper tantrum badly disguised as “concern for the constitution”
That’s it in a nutshell.
And as long as you continue to think that’s the issue, you will continue to misunderstand the situation. But that’s okay, because your arrogant insistence that you understand liberals is quite entertaining. As the old saying goes, never stop the enemy when they are making a mistake. Carry on, harry.
So now you go from “the country is being destroyed and you’re complicit!(anne said that once) to being entertained by my arrogance.
I don’t expect you to change in any way and I’m not trying to talk you into anything. I was merely pointing out that so far, Trump has prevailed against Newsom. I thought it was newsworthy.
I can be entertained by your arrogance as you cheer on the destruction of our country. They aren’t mutually exclusive. I am also saddened by how easily you are being misled. Maybe you don’t really understand how liberals think.
But no, you won’t ever consider that possibility. Being wrong just isn’t an option you are willing to entertain. You keep proving that.
Have a nice day, harry.
PS. I will say this last thing. You seem to be a fan of democracy, but you also seem to want to subvert it because stupid people acted in a way you don’t approve of by electing Trump.
This is the common thread that runs through everything that the left is doing right now. You, in particular call people racist and st
ignorant (another common theme) I guess you think if you keep it up long enough, people will get it.
Clinton called us deplorable and Biden called us garbage. It only served to make us laugh and make t-shirts and banners.
As I’ve said before, it’s time for you to find some people you can run for office. The midterms are fast approaching (if Trump doesn’t decide to call them off)
🙂
How am I trying to subvert democracy? Trump is president. I have never denied that. But he is doing a lot of things that subvert democracy, and you seem fine with him doing them. I am trying to draw attention to these things so they can be stopped. That is a defense of democracy.
Ignorance can be cured. You and your buddies just refuse to do what’s necessary to cure it. The first step is admitting the possibility that you could be wrong, and you continually demonstrate that you aren’t willing to do that.
And if you don’t want to be called a racist, then stop defending people who are doing racist things. It makes you guilty by association.
Clinton called half of you deplorable. We can’t help it if you all took that name. You just proved her right as far as I’m concerned. But thanks for admitting you are a full-on Trump supporter.
What I am doing is pointing out the holes on the left’s argument. Let’s take sending the National Guard to LA. On June 6,
rioters attacked ICE facilities. They threw objects at officers and destroyed property. The LAPD stood down for two reasons 1) they were overwhelmed (per their police chief) 2) they are held back from helping ICE. Trump engaged the National Guard to protect federal property and personelle. I won’t go into all the details (of which there are many) because you’ll tell me I got them from FOX News. What is relevant is that an appeals court rejected Newsom’s suit after hearing from both sides.
But the most relevant thing is watching how the leftists went to work, almost like it was planned, to disparage the president and make claims about how he’s a fascist dictator
I can see with my own eyes how you people work, but you imagine some day I’ll see the light.
And then there is your smarmy closing “thanks for confirming you’re a full-on Trump supporter”.
Lame.
What will you be saying in 2028, after things go relatively well and because of that another republican becomes president? (fingers crossed)
I wonder what the next faux outrage will be
It’s like being forced to watch a bad movie on a loop.
I’m not going to address your claims about LA, because you’re obvioulsy only seeing part of the situation, and you won’t accept anything else from me.
But I don’t expect you to ever see the light or change your mind. You just don’t seem to have the self-awareness necessary to do that. You can’t imagine the possibility of being wrong, even though you’ve been shown to be wrong several times. (Obama deporting millions without due process, for one). It just disappears from your mind and you plod on as if it never happened. Your worldview would shatter if you ever realized you were wrong about something. It depends on always being correct, regardless of the facts and you will protect it at all costs.
And yes, you admitted to being a full on Trump supporter with “Clinton called “US” deplorables”. (Emphasis mine) She only called Trump supporters deplorables, and only half of them at that. So yes, that was an admission. And of course, since you ignore what he is doing to destroy our democracy you demonstrate yourself to be a full-on MAGAt regardless of your feeble claims to the contrary.
The bottom line is that you only see what you want to see. You’ve demonstrated that time and time again. You ignore anything that doesn’t support your presuppositions about liberals and then laughably claim you know what they think. That’s why you’re entertaining, harry. Someone so arrogantly insistant that they are right, yet so obviously wrong can be nothing else.
So here you are congratulating yourself for discovering I am a “full-on Trump supporter” when I, according to you, have up until now tried to hide it.
That’s what’s lame. I’ve been pretty open that I like Trump.(although I often cringe at some of his rhetoric).
I “full-on” support the deportation of people who are in the country illegally.
I “full-on” support not allowingpeople whose aim is to thwart the feds from doing their job to do so.
I “full-on” support the effort to eliminate waste and fraud in our government. I “full-on” support the elimination of birth right citizenship because it is fraught with perverse incentives.
And I “full-on” reject the weird tendency people like you have to label people you disagree with as racists and fascists and self-deluded.
I suppose it is arrogant to impune motives to other people, but that’s rich coming from you…a person who pretty much makes a career out of it.
As I said, if you don’t like being grouped with racists and Nazis, then stop defending them.
The things you support are not nearly the problems you have been told they are, and if you’d bother to look into it, you’d find that whenever you happen to think America was “great” in the past, these things were part of it. So maybe they aren’t the problems you’ve been told they are?
Of course, that would involve considering that you are wrong, and we all know you can’t do that.
You act like someone’s bitchy, finger waggingwife or mother
“Everyone knows…!”
Is that something you learned in “leftist crank” school?
I don’t need to be told. I can make my own evaluation. And if someday I’m proven wrong…oh well.
What a difference a governor makes! Even Jen Psaki seems impressed.
“The Briefing,” host Jen Psaki stated that California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) is doing “sort of the opposite” of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) in that Newsom “doesn’t want the National Guard to be intervening in these protests” and that protests in San Antonio have been peaceful.
Psaki said, “This is the scene in San Antonio, Texas right now. Hundreds of people holding signs, playing music, cheering, and chanting, peacefully protesting ICE raids in their community. In response to organizers planning that San Antonio rally, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced that he would deploy the National Guard to target anti-ICE protests across the Lone Star State.”
She added, “I just described it as peaceful. It looked very peaceful.”
To what end?
He’s the president. If by some miracle you win the house and senate and manage to impeach him…you get JD Vance.
It’s good that you wrote out the transcript because the first half of the audio didn’t come through when it was first aired. Technical difficulties abound in California…like forgetting to fill up the reservoirs in case of fire.
Gavin is pretty unlikely to be able to do anything besides posing for the cameras.
Trump has been destroying our country. I implore everyone to protest June 14 “No King’s Day
To what end?
He’s the president. If by some miracle you win the house and senate and manage to impeach him…you get JD Vance.