Gavin Newsom Sends Donald Trump a Message

California Governor Gavin Newsom gave President-elect Donald Trump a barely concealed warning following the Republican’s dramatic election victory, vowing to “defend our Constitution and uphold the rule of law” in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
On Tuesday Trump defeated Democrat Kamala Harris to win the 2024 presidential election with at least 295 Electoral College votes according to The Associated Press (AP) as of Thursday morning, 25 more than required for victory. AP also has Trump ahead in Arizona and Nevada, two swing states that are still counting their ballots, and on course to win the popular vote.
During the campaign Democrats focused heavily on the damage they claimed a second Trump term would do to American democracy and the rule of law, with Harris branding the Republican nominee “unhinged and unstable” and saying he seeks “unchecked power.” Newsom, who didn’t run against Biden in the 2024 Democratic presidential primaries, has been widely tipped as a potential future White House contender for his party.
In an X post on Wednesday Newsom began by paying tribute to Harris, saying she “set out to fight to defend our fundamental freedoms and build a country that works for everyone. She stood up for working families, decency, and opportunity.
He added: “Though this is not the outcome we wanted, our fight for freedom and opportunity endures.”
Newsom then addressed Trump, commenting: “California will seek to work with the incoming president—but let there be no mistake, we intend to stand with states across our nation to defend our Constitution and uphold the rule of law.
“Federalism is the cornerstone of our democracy. It’s the United STATES of America.”
Newsweek contacted Donald Trump’s presidential election campaign and Governor Newsom for comment on Thursday via email and online inquiry form respectively outside of regular office hours.
The California governor’s warning follows four years in which Republican governors often acted as a thorn in the side of President Biden.
In particular the Biden administration clashed repeatedly with Texas Governor Greg Abbott over migration and transgender rights in education.
In January 2024 Abbott vowed to put more razor wire along the Texas-Mexico border to discourage illegal immigration in defiance of a Supreme Court ruling allowing Border Patrol agents to remove it. To justify this the Texas Governor invoked Article IV, Section 4 of the Constitution “which reserves to this State the right of self-defense.”
Abbott added: “That authority is the supreme law of the land and supersedes any federal statutes to the contrary.” A group of 25 Republican governors from across the country released a joint statement in support of this position.
Trump is facing criminal charges at the federal level and in the state of Georgia specifically related to claims he broke the law while attempting to overturn the 2020 presidential election result. The now President-elect has strongly denied any wrongdoing and speaking to Newsweek constitutional law Professor David Driesen said the cases are likely to be stalled or dismissed following his victory.