The White House took several jabs at California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s address to the nation on Tuesday night as his state navigates massive immigration protests in Los Angeles.
Newsom, a Democrat, said in the address that “Democracy is under assault” as he sparred with President Donald Trump over the administration’s decision to dispatch thousands of National Guard troops and hundreds of Marines to address the riots.
In response, White House assistant to the president and director of communications Steven Cheung accused Newsom of spending time creating the video rather than serving as governor. Likewise, Cheung took a swipe at the video’s audio, claiming the production quality was akin to Newsom’s leadership.
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“Gavin NewScum spent all this time–instead of doing his actual job– preparing for a webinar just for the audio to not work,” Cheung said in a post on X late Tuesday evening. “The production quality is just like his leadership quality– sh***y.”
Additionally, Cheung suggested that Newsom had brought on former President Joe Biden and former Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign manager, who both repeatedly warned during the 2024 campaign cycle that a second Trump term would pose a “threat to democracy.”
“NewScum must’ve hired Kamala and Biden’s loser campaign team because he saying this is a ‘threat to democracy,’” Cheung said.
A spokesperson for Newsom did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
Other White House officials also weighed in on Newsom’s address to defend the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration.
“American voters elected President Donald Trump to carry out his agenda, which includes enforcing the immigration laws passed by their elected representatives,” deputy assistant to the president and principal deputy communications director Alex Pfieffer said in a post on X on Tuesday. “California is trying to subvert democracy.”
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Newsom said in the address that more than 200 people have been arrested in connection to the protests and labeled Trump’s decision to deploy troops to Los Angeles a “brazen abuse of power.”
“This isn’t just about protests here in Los Angeles,” Newsom said in the video. “This is about all of us. This is about you. California may be first, but it clearly will not end here. Other states are next. Democracy is next. Democracy is under assault before our eyes.”
White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller also responded to one of Newsom’s posts on X late Tuesday evening after the governor said the Founding Fathers did not “live and die to see this moment,” and urged for peaceful protests. Meanwhile, Miller shared a photo of a shirtless man standing on a vehicle and waving a California flag in front of fumes with the comment: “According to Governor Newsom, this is what the Founders were fighting for.”
Trump has gone head-to-head with Newsom over the deployment of 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines to Los Angeles following protests sparked by ICE arrests in the city on Friday.
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While Trump has argued the National Guard troops are necessary to prevent destruction in Los Angeles, Newsom said most of the troops “are sitting, unused, in federal buildings without orders.”
Additionally, Newsom argued that the move violates state sovereignty because governors typically oversee National Guard troops. Trump invoked a law to place the troops under federal command in order to bypass Newsom.
“This isn’t about public safety,” Newsom said in a post on X on Monday. “It’s about stroking a dangerous President’s ego.”
