Governor Gavin Newsom made the case in a televised address on Tuesday evening that President Donald Trump’s decision to send military forces to immigration protests in Los Angeles has put the nation at the precipice of authoritarianism.

The California governor urged Americans to stand up to Trump, calling it a “perilous moment” for democracy and the country’s long-held legal norms.

“California may be first, but it clearly won’t end here,” Newsom said, speaking to cameras from a studio in Los Angeles. “Other states are next. Democracy is next.”

“Democracy is under assault right before our eyes — the moment we’ve feared has arrived,” he added.

Newsom spoke on the fifth day of protests in Los Angeles against federal immigration raids that have sent fear and anger through many communities in Southern California. He said Trump had “inflamed a combustible situation” by taking over California’s National Guard, and by calling up 4,000 troops and 700 Marines.

“Trump is pulling a military dragnet all across Los Angeles,” Newsom said. “Well beyond his stated intent to just go after violent and serious criminals, his agents are arresting dishwashers, gardeners, day labourers and seamstresses.”

The governor is considered a possible Democratic presidential candidate in 2028, and his Tuesday night speech, called “Democracy at a Crossroads”, sounded national in scope. It aired on some national networks and, after a brief delay because of audio problems, on Newsom’s social media accounts.

The current political standoff has given Newsom a wider platform, and he has jousted with Trump and Republicans for several days in interviews and on social media.

After Newsom’s speech, some Republicans ridiculed the governor for the audio issues that occurred during the broadcast of his speech. James Gallagher, the Republican leader of the California state assembly, responded by pointing to the strict rules the governor imposed during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“You are the ultimate authoritarian who shut down restaurants and masked our kids while you went to the French Laundry,” Gallagher said on X, referencing a dinner party at the famed Napa Valley restaurant that Newsom attended while gatherings were restricted in 2020.

Soon, the feud between Newsom and President Trump will head to federal court. On Monday, Newsom sued the President, challenging the military mobilisation as an unlawful commandeering of state power. On Tuesday, he filed an emergency motion asking the court to immediately block the military from patrolling city streets or working with immigration agents.

A hearing on that request is scheduled for Thursday.

“Authoritarian regimes begin by targeting people who are least able to defend themselves,” Newsom said in his speech.

“But they do not stop there. Trump and his loyalists thrive on division because it allows them to take more power and exert even more control.”

New York Times News Service