President Donald Trump has some harsh thoughts about California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D)’s possible bid for the White House in 2028.
In an interview with The California Post on Monday, Trump blasted Newsom’s leadership in the Golden State as “incompetent” as he considered the possibility of the governor launching a campaign in the next presidential election.
“I’m surprised Gavin wants to run for office,” Trump said of one of his biggest critics in an Oval Office interview on Friday.
Trump believes California needs “proper leadership” and claims Newsom has failed to deliver on his promises since he began leading the state in 2019.
“People love the dream of California, but they hate what’s happening to them,” Trump said, describing the Democratic governor as “incompetent.”
Newsom has not officially announced a run for office but has emerged as a leading contender in several early polls, which also includes former Vice President Kamala Harris, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, among others.
Trump has previously suggested Vice President Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio as Republican candidates.
Trump went on to predict in the interview that the California high-speed rail project expected to connect San Francisco and Los Angeles would have a negative impact on Newsom’s chances.
Federal funding for the proposal stopped this month, but the project remains behind schedule and billions over budget, KMPH-TV reported. Its cost is estimated to be as high as $128 billion, nearly four times the original $33 billion price tag, and a U.S. Department of Transportation report said the full target of its initial portion is unlikely to be achieved by 2033.
California in December dismissed a lawsuit seeking to end $4 billion in federal funding from the Obama and Biden eras that the Trump administration had repeatedly tried to withdraw. Meanwhile, the House passed an appropriations bill last week with a provision that makes the project ineligible for federal funding.
“He had a train, a train that went anywhere, and it was supposed to be a simple train from San Francisco to Los Angeles,” Trump said, adding, “This is the biggest cost drain I’ve ever seen.”
The president noted that he could have “built that thing in a year.”
Trump also said his relationship with Newsom had become “hopeless” from the cordiality it once was during his first term.
“They’ve become radically left-wing,” Trump said. “They’re crazy.”
Trump made similar claims last week while speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where Newsom also attended.
“We’re going to help the people of California,” Trump said. “We hope there is no crime.”
“I know Gavin is here. I got along great with Gavin when I was president. Gavin is a good guy,” he continued, saying he would help Newsom “immediately.”
Trump confirmed to The Washington Post that they had spoken privately but declined to disclose details of the conversation.
“I had a good conversation with him,” he said.
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