The new Dem superstar for 2028?

Trump seems to have finally found a worthy adversary: California governor Gavin Newsom has no qualms about confronting him, calling him “unhinged” and accusing him of behaving like a dictator.

While the two men clash in court, California’s governor has sued the Trump administration for deploying the National Guard to Los Angeles without the state’s consent.

The complaint filed by the governor denounces a violation of the U.S. Constitution, accuses Trump of abuse of power for political political purposes in connection with the anti-ICE protests, and asks the court to block the operation while reaffirming states’ rights in the face of federal interference.

But the confrontation is also being played out in the media and on socials, where Gavin Newsom openly criticizes Trump and his policies, which he compares to those of authoritarian regimes. Several moments of Newsom’s verbal outbursts have gone viral in recent days.

The governor condemns the deployment of Marines on U.S. soil, the threats of arrest against him and the mayor of Los Angeles, and the detention of a Democratic senator at a Kristi Noem’s press conference in California, where she described Los Angeles as “a city of criminals”. Newsom called the events “outrageous, dictatorial, and shameful”.

Gavin Newsom accused the president of deliberately fabricating the crisis in Los Angeles, calling his threats to arrest him “the actions of a dictator”, adding “This is a day I hoped I would never see in America”, while challenging the President and his henchmen to come and arrest him as they threatened to do. 

Newsom also said he would “stand firm” in the face of Trump’s actions, embodying a resistance many expected since the beginning from Democrats to the Trump administration, while the president says Newsom should thank him for sending the National Guard to Los Angeles as backup. The question now arises, while a moribund Democratic Party is struggling to organize itself: is Gavin Newsom the party’s next superstar, or simply the viral flavor of the month?