Gavin Newsom Shreds Trump for National Guard Blindside: ‘Stone Cold Liar!’
California Governor Gavin Newsom launched a scathing rebuke of President Donald Trump, branding him a “stone-cold liar” for failing to mention his plan to deploy the National Guard to Los Angeles during a phone call on Saturday morning.
Speaking to NBC News on Sunday, Newsom insisted that during a 20-minute phone call with Trump early Saturday, the president never mentioned sending troops into the city making that very decision just hours later.
The call, held at around 1.30 a.m. (ET), came after mass protests erupted across Los Angeles following a wave of federal immigration raids.
“We talked for almost 20 minutes and he barely, this issue never came up,” Newsom said. “I tried to talk about L.A., he wanted to talk about all these other issues. We had a very decent conversation.”
“He never once brought up the National Guard. He’s a stone-cold liar,” Newsom said. “He said he did. Stone. Cold. Liar. Never did.”
He continued: “Was a very civil conversation. I’ve always wanted to approach engagement with the President of the United States in a respectful and responsible way. But there’s no working with the president, there’s only working for him. And I will never work for Donald Trump.”
Later in the interview, he added: “I think he was aware of what was happening in Los Angeles. I think I’m more than aware. And obviously he was setting this up to take these additional steps. This was a setup. And I’m not saying he was setting things up, not saying it was a setup. But clearly they were in the process of moving to these next steps. Because out of nowhere, just a few hours after that conversation he moves to pull the trigger under this.”
Tensions have escalated dramatically in Los Angeles since the arrival of federal troops on Sunday. Newsom had explicitly opposed their deployment and is now preparing to sue the Trump administration over what he has described as an “unlawful” use of force.
Trump, meanwhile, has doubled down, calling protesters “insurrectionists” and vowing to “liberate Los Angeles” in Truth Social posts. The president has also demanded apologies from both Newsom and LA Mayor Karen Bass, whom he accused of doing “an absolutely horrible job.”
Watch above via MSNBC.
