A speech by the governor of California in which he vowed to ‘match fire with fire’ against Donald Trump has widely been seen as a stake to the claim of Democratic presidential nominee in 2028.
Gavin Newsom announced plans on Thursday to use his state’s powers to fight against what he calls White House-led efforts to ‘rig the system’ by redrawing voting lines.
This process happens every decade by law, but Texas Republicans backed by Trump have moved to trigger it five years early.
This will give the party more Congress seats well before his term ends, while current political maps mean Democrats could gain control of the house and block most of Trump’s agenda.
Newsom first responded with an X post calling the president Donald ‘Taco’ Trump and mocking his crude, hyperbolic writing style.
‘CALIFORNIA WILL NOW DRAW NEW, MORE “BEAUTIFUL MAPS,” THEY WILL BE HISTORIC AS THEY WILL END THE TRUMP PRESIDENCY (DEMS TAKE BACK THE HOUSE!)’ he wrote.
‘BIG PRESS CONFERENCE THIS WEEK WITH POWERFUL DEMS AND GAVIN NEWSOM — YOUR FAVORITE GOVERNOR — THAT WILL BE DEVASTATING FOR ‘MAGA.”
That conference saw him and a coalition of Democratic leaders announce plans to redraw California’s political map and call for new laws to stop presidents meddling with voter boundaries.
In response, Trump branded Newsom an ‘incompetent governor’ and suggested he should be arrested.
Gavin Newsom’s background and key moments
Newsom has repeatedly been touted as a future leader of the Democratic Party.
While he has fallen out of the limelight at times, he remains favourite to be the party’s next nominee for the presidential race, ahead of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Pete Buttigieg.
Born in San Francisco in 1967, he reportedly struggled in school due to severe dyslexia but was gifted at sports.
He attended Santa Clara University on a baseball scholarship and had a promising career in the game before an injury ended it, leaving him to focus on his political science major.
Three years later he opened a wine store which later expanded into a chain of bars, restaurants, hotels and vineyards, making him a millionaire.
His first move into politics saw him serve as a city supervisor and volunteer on Willie Brown’s successful campaign for mayor.
Brown elevated Newsom to the Board of Supervisors, where he raised his profile by pushing for major reforms to how San Francisco handles homeless people.
In 2003, he made a successful run for mayor, and made a name for himself nationally by allowing city officials to issue same-sex marriage licences despite it still being against state law at the time.
He was elected as lieutenant governor in 2011, before coasting to victory in the 2018 run for California governor on a platform based on affordable housing and city-wide universal health care.
One of Newsom’s first moves was to place a moratorium on executions in the state.
In March 2020, he was the first US governor to impose strict Covid restrictions.
Later that year he faced a campaign to kick him out of his seat and trigger a new election over his handling of Covid restrictions.
It gained momentum after he was pictured at a birthday party with maskless guests from more than three other households, in defiance of guidelines issued by his administration.
Meanwhile, critics heaped pressure on him over California’s exceptionally high homelesness rates.
Together with anger over other issues such as a $31 billion fraud scandal at California’s unemployment agency, these issues pushed more and more voters against him.
A petition to have Newsom recalled hit 1.7 million signatures, sparking a recall election in 2021, but he easily survived thanks to overall popularity in the state.
The 57-year-old went back on the offensive following the devastating LA wildfires, accusing Trump of withholding federal support for political reasons.
He then accused the president of ‘instigating violence’ by sending in the US National Guard to deal with protests over the fire response in LA.
While Newsom remains a persistent frontrunner for the Democratic leadership, polls are mixed when it comes to the strength of his position.
Only 27% of voters surveyed at the end of May for AtlasUS said they had a positive image of him, with 54% saying they had a negative image.
Meanwhile, Ocasio-Cortez enjoyed a 46% positive versus 44% negative rating.
The most recent polling among California voters gave Newsom an approval rating of 44% to 54%, and found he is favoured for the Democrat’s 2028 nomination.
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