California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, used his State of the State address on Tuesday to celebrate California’s achievements on its 175th anniversary of statehood but also to criticize Donald Trump for “targeting our state” as it battled wildfires this year, accusing the president of a “relentless, unhinged California obsession”.
The Democratic governor delivered his annual message in the form of a letter to the state legislature, and a video, instead of an address. Newsom, widely seen as a potential presidential contender for 2028, also criticized the president and his policies for bringing chaos and disruption to California, without mentioning Trump by name.
“As I write to you, California is menaced by a federal administration that dismantles public services, punishes allies across the globe, and sweeps the rule of law into the gutter,” Newsom wrote in the letter. “They have thrown away decades of progress on clean air and water, sent the US military into the streets of our cities, and used extortion in an attempt to bully our businesses and world-class public institutions. But California, this uniquely blessed state, is standing up.”
The video version of the message showed news footage of federal officers streaming through a Los Angeles park this year, after Trump deployed national guard troops and active-duty marines to the city to quell protests against immigration raids that swept up US citizens as well as documented and undocumented immigrants.
Newsom’s video also showed mass protests against the deployment of federal officers in LA as the governor said: “There’s reason to be optimistic on this anniversary. So many people are asserting their moral authority and raising their voices to stand up for the ideals this country was built on.
“We are now nine months into a battle to protect the values we hold most dear and to preserve the economic and social foundation we built for California,” Newsom added in his letter. “We are facing a federal administration built on incompetence and malicious ignorance, one that seeks the death of independent thinking.”
Newsom hasn’t done a formal address in a few years, a departure from decades of tradition, which Republican lawmakers have criticized him for.
The state has been a battleground for the Trump administration after its hardline immigration strategy spurred protests. The federal government also has cut funding to the state’s long-delayed high-speed rail project, rolled back the state’s first-in-the-nation rule banning the sale of new gas-powered cars and sued the state over its law that allows transgender girls to compete on girls’ sports teams.
California has responded by suing the administration 41 times. Lawmakers earlier this year authorized giving $50m to California’s department of justice and other legal groups to help protect the state’s progressive policies. California is also fighting back against Trump’s move to suspend funding to the University of California, Los Angeles, over allegations of civil rights violations related to antisemitism and affirmative action, Newsom said.
“It would be a mistake to think California is cowering in the face of this onslaught,” Newsom said.
The letter also outlines what Newsom described as California’s achievements, highlighting the state’s resiliency and quick recovery effort after the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles earlier this year as well as other advancements in tech, green energy and education in an economy that exceeds $4.1tn. He also highlighted the state’s volunteer force of tens of thousands of young people and a tax-credit program to bring back Hollywood productions.
State Republicans said Newsom is prioritizing building his national profile instead of working on issues in California. James Gallagher, the Republican leader of the state assembly, pointed to the state’s ongoing budget deficits, homelessness crisis and sky-high costs of living in a social media video responding to Newsom’s letter.
Gallagher also criticized Newsom’s push for a new state congressional map to help Democrats win more seats in the US House and potentially gain control of the House before the 2026 midterms. California’s move is to counter a similar effort led by Republican lawmakers at Trump’s urging in Texas.
“Stop refusing to show up and actually do the work of being a governor,” Gallagher said in his own video.
The Associated Press contributed reporting
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