Donald Trump was asked why Gavin Newsom should be arrested and his response is everything you need to know about his presidency right now
Donald Trump’s decision to unilaterally send the national guard to Los Angeles in response to protests about his immigration policy has led to a standoff with California governor Gavin Newsom, who didn’t ask for the troops and wants Trump to order them out.
The president will do nothing of the sort, of course, and has even gone so far as to suggest Newsom could be arrested.
But for what offence, this reporter entirely understandably asked. And Trump’s response is a terrifying indication of where his presidency – and the whole of the United States – is right now.
Trump: What crime did Newsom commit? He ran for governor pic.twitter.com/Hitpd7yqAd
— Acyn (@Acyn) June 9, 2025
And of all the many responses the exchange prompted, these ones surely said it best.
1.
Moments like this make it clear how much Trump has slipped over the last decade. He’s saying out loud that Newsom’s “crime” is being a governor in a blue state. It’s disqualifying for an American president to say something this shockingly un-American.
— greg cantwell (@gregmcantwell) June 9, 2025
2.
Trump is a 34 times convicted felon.
It’s literally a joke. This administration is a circus
— TheFrenchie (@ML3democrats) June 9, 2025
3.
You can either support Trump or the United States—but you cannot do both. https://t.co/HanYP13oli
— MeidasTouch (@MeidasTouch) June 9, 2025
4.
Why do they get mad when we call them fascists?
— R. Saoirse (@razzli_) June 9, 2025
5.
This is, pardon my language, royally fucked up. And absolutely terrifying. https://t.co/YAHgvTtdO9
— Alison Craig (@lawandchocolate) June 9, 2025
6.
#Trump thinks its a crime to run for public office. At what stage of insanity has he reached?
— Richard Ingham Evans (@Ringham7) June 9, 2025
7.
BREAKING: Trump implies that Governor Newsom should be arrested for the crime of “running for governor”.
Reporter: “What warrants his arrest? What crime has he committed?”
Trump: “I think his primary crime is running for governor.”
If this isn’t AUTHORITARIANISM then what… pic.twitter.com/dajS8OmnTl
— Brian Krassenstein (@krassenstein) June 9, 2025