Gavin Newsom dives into fight with Trump, rebuilds cred with Democrats' liberal base

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is seizing on the anti-deportation clash with President Trump to position himself as the poster boy for the Democratic “resistance” and de facto leader of his rudderless Democratic Party.

A Tuesday night TV address had the feel of a campaign speech as Mr. Newsom rebutted Mr. Trump and other Republicans who blamed him for the immigration-related chaos.

“California may be first, but it clearly won’t end here. Other states are next. Democracy is next,” he said, wearing a suit and tie and standing in front of the American and California flags. “Democracy is under assault right before our eyes. The moment we’ve feared has arrived.”

Political analysts say Mr. Newsom’s spotlight grab is part of a broader strategy as he positions himself as a “fighter.”

It could help resuscitate his image for a likely 2028 presidential bid, win back liberal activists who have soured on him and shift the spotlight away from his struggles addressing California’s challenges, such as homelessness, wildfires and state budget woes.

“Politically, he’s taking advantage of this enormous gift that Donald Trump is giving him, which is to lead a party that has been leaderless since the November election,” said Rob Stutzman, a Republican Party strategist who served under California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. “It may not sell outside of his party base at the moment, but it is giving him an opportunity to lead a parade that has been looking for a leader.

“It’s working for him because it is authentic,” he said. “He is reacting to real events that are impacting his state.”

David McCuan, political science professor at Sonoma State University, said Mr. Newsom wants to be seen as a “fighter” and the beef with Mr. Trump is a golden opportunity to do that.

He said the speech had rhetorical “tofu for progressives” and targeted a broader audience that he is betting shares his concerns about Mr. Trump’s deployment of the National Guard and Marines to protect federal facilities and personnel tasked with carrying out immigration sweeps.

“They are very conscious of not getting ahead of their skis, not getting ahead of public opinion while trying to lead the charge against the Trump administration,” Mr. McCuan said.

The strategy comes with potential pitfalls.

Mr. Newsom could be on the wrong side of the debate regarding the Trump administration’s use of troops to enforce federal law, particularly when he is going up against televised images of burning cars, rocks being thrown at law enforcement, and protesters roaming the streets carrying Mexican flags.

“As a guy who has often been painted as this uber liberal San Francisco, kind of crazy progressive, they are worried that he will get tagged with being out of the mainstream of law and order,” Mr. McCuan said.

Shaun Steel, a Republican National Committee member from California, said that ship sailed long ago.

“This is going to backfire because the optics make him look like an idiot,” Mr. Steel said.

He said Mr. Newsom has the “opposite of the Midas touch.”

“Whatever he touches just turns badly, and he doesn’t want that to happen,” Mr. Steel said. “He’s trying hard to look like he’s a reasonable opposition to Trump, yeah, but he’s actually aiding and abetting Trump and keeping Trump’s numbers up higher than they would be normally.”

Mr. Newsom has had a turbulent relationship with liberal Democrats, who dominate California politics and play a massive role in the party’s presidential primaries.

He served as a top advocate for President Biden on the campaign trail, habitually dismissing concerns about the commander in chief’s mental acuity.

Days after the November election, Mr. Newsom called a special session of the state Legislature to allocate funds for anticipated legal battles with Mr. Trump and his administration.

The rhetoric cooled off when Mr. Newsom worked with Mr. Trump to ensure that federal assistance continued to flow into the state to support the response and recovery efforts to the wildfires that destroyed Los Angeles neighborhoods in January and raised questions about whether Mr. Newsom could have had the state better prepared.

Looking to change the political conversation, Mr. Newsom launched a political podcast.

He enraged liberal activists when he hosted Steve Bannon and Charlie Kirk, a pair of MAGA celebrities, and further alienated the culture warriors on the left when he said that it was “deeply unfair” for biological men to participate in women’s sports.

In April, Mr. Newsom shifted back into anti-Trump mode by filing a lawsuit in federal court challenging the president’s use of emergency power to enact tariffs that the governor blamed for driving up prices and hurting the job market.

Last month, he was accused of betraying his commitment to the state’s immigrants by backtracking on his pledge to provide health care to illegal migrants.

This week, Mr. Newsom sued the Trump administration over the military mobilization and filed an emergency motion seeking to block the military from patrolling the city.