VICTOR JOECKS: Newsom’s presidential launch is a riot

Most governors would see looting, mayhem and attacks on police officers as problems to fix. California Gov. Gavin Newsom sees them as a means to boosting his presidential ambitions.

After several days of violent riots in Los Angeles, Newsom delivered a speech he titled “Democracy at a Crossroads.” He attacked federal officials for enforcing federal immigration law. He downplayed the initial destruction by noting state and local officials “sent our police officers to help keep the peace and, with some exceptions, they were successful.”

That’s like saying that the Titanic had an uneventful voyage with some exceptions.

He saved his harshest words for President Donald Trump. He accused Trump of starting a “downward spiral” by deploying the California National Guard to Los Angeles to restore order. That was Trump “fanning the flames even harder,” Newsom said.

This is like a defense lawyer trying to exonerate a client by blaming police: “If the officers hadn’t arrested him, he wouldn’t have attacked them.” It’s beyond parody.

“Democracy is under assault right before our eyes. This moment we have feared has arrived,” Newsom said. He continued, “The rule of law has increasingly been given way to the rule of Don.”

Think about this for a moment. Trump ran on mass deportations and won decisively. The riots are an attempt to stop federal officials from enforcing immigration law. If Newsom cared about democracy or the rule of law, he would be helping Trump deport illegal immigrants.

But as these riots have made obvious — once again — that what Newsom really cares about is running for president. And because his side gig as a podcast host hasn’t gone well, Newsom is trying a new approach.

Nothing unifies the Democrat base more than opposing Trump — even if it puts someone on the side of civil unrest and illegal immigration. And Newsom is making the most of this opportunity. Along with bashing Trump, he sued over Trump’s troop deployment. Trump has jumped into the fray, too, musing about arresting Newsom and calling him “Newscum” on Truth Social.

“Newsom leans into L.A. unrest to position himself as leader of opposition,” The Wall Street Journal wrote Tuesday.

Newsom did an interview with the paper on Monday. That night, police arrested 96 people for failure to disperse, according to a Los Angeles Police Department release. It continued, “Two LAPD officers were injured and transported to a local hospital for medical treatment and released. Several businesses were looted during the evening, with 14 arrests made for looting. During the crowd control situation, there were numerous less-lethal rounds used by the LAPD.”

What a perfect encapsulation of Newsom’s tenure. Instead of fixing problems, he responds with a PR blitz to boost his political fortunes.

The New York Times raved that he used his speech “to seize a political moment.” NBC News wrote this “could be the most consequential political fight of his career.” The BBC said the clash with Trump “offers a political opportunity for a man whose term in office ends next year and has his own presidential ambitions.”

“I’m not thinking about running, but it’s a path that I could see unfold,” Newsom told the Journal. Technically, that’s probably true. He isn’t thinking about running for president. He’s obsessing over it.

Picking a high-profile fight with Trump may be a good strategy for winning Democrat primary voters. But doing so on this issue isn’t likely to play well in a nationwide general election.

Some people use life’s lemons to make lemonade. Newsom is using burning Waymo taxis to make his case to be president. What a riot.

Contact Victor Joecks at vjoecks@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4698. Follow @victorjoecks on X.