A tense moment at a White House press briefing underscores the increasing friction between President Donald Trump and California Governor Gavin Newsom concerning the deployment of the National Guard and efforts to redraw district lines.
The political dispute between Trump and Newsom intensified during a White House news conference on Monday, August 11, 2025. During the session, Trump directed a profanity-filled outburst at the Democratic governor while answering questions from the press.
Trump expressed his frustration to reporters, stating, “Gavin Newscum is incompetent. He’s got a good line of (expletive), but that’s about it. He’s incompetent.“ The intensity of the remarks led Fox News briefly to interrupt its usual programming to provide live coverage of the event.
This exchange arises as Trump and Newsom prepare for a federal court case to assess whether the president breached a 147-year-old statute by deploying the National Guard to manage protests over immigration raids in Los Angeles, California.
In June 2025, a large number of individuals gathered in Los Angeles, California, to demonstrate against workplace immigration raids that led to numerous detentions and deportations. Trump invoked an infrequently used law that permits the president to federalize the National Guard during actual or threatened rebellion or invasion, or when standard forces cannot enforce U.S. laws. Despite objections from Governor Newsom and local leaders, Trump federalized and sent 4,000 National Guard members and 700 U.S. Marines to the city.
Newsom filed a lawsuit on June 9, 2025, against Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, arguing that they violated the Posse Comitatus Act and the 10th Amendment. The Posse Comitatus Act primarily restricts the president from utilizing the military as a domestic law enforcement entity.
The trial is underway in San Francisco, California, with Judge Charles Breyer presiding over the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. The state contends that the troops supported immigration agents during raids and set up security perimeters, effectively placing Los Angeles residents under “military occupation.” The federal government denies these claims, asserting that the president has the right to deploy forces to enforce federal laws, including those related to immigration.
A military general involved in the deployment testified that he did not hear the protests described as a “rebellion,” a necessary condition to justify the deployment under the law cited by Trump.
The conflict extends beyond the courtroom. In reaction to Trump’s redistricting initiatives in Texas and other Republican states, Newsom issued a forceful warning. On Instagram, he urged Trump to “call your lapdogs off.”
In his post, Newsom emphasized that Trump should contact Governor Greg Abbott to cease efforts, asserting that Trump was not “entitled” to five congressional seats. Newsom cautioned that if Trump did not restrain his allies, California would respond swiftly and decisively at the ballot box to counter any political gains. He maintained that California would not allow democracy to be compromised.
The redistricting conflict started two weeks ago when Trump urged Texas Governor Greg Abbott to gain five congressional seats through mid-decade gerrymandering, an uncommon practice as district lines are typically drawn every ten years following the U.S. Census. Texas Democrats blocked the redistricting by leaving the state and relocating to Illinois and other Democratic states to prevent the Texas GOP from achieving a quorum.
Newsom has vowed to advocate for redrawing California’s district lines in response to any Republican advances in Texas, which would require California voters to reject the current maps created by an independent commission. New York Governor Kathy Hochul and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker have pledged similar actions in their Democratic-led governments.
With only 300 National Guard troops remaining in Los Angeles, California, Newsom’s legal team seeks largely symbolic relief: a declaration that the order used to federalize the National Guard and Hegseth’s directives were unauthorized and unlawful. According to Newsom, the remaining troops are stationed at Joint Forces Training Base in Los Alamitos, California, “without a clear mission, direction, or a timeline for returning to their state duties.”
The trial’s outcome could have significant implications for the president’s ability to use the military for domestic law enforcement and may set a precedent for future National Guard deployments by Trump in California or other states. This case also represents an escalation in the ongoing dispute between Trump and Newsom, with both figures engaging in increasingly heated rhetoric over federal and state authority.
