President Trump is stunned that Gov. Gavin Newsom is considering running for the White House, noting how badly the Golden State is being run under the “incompetent” Democrat’s leadership.
“I’m amazed Gavin wants to run for office,” Trump told The California Post Friday in an Oval Office interview after his administration sued California over sanctuary policies, accused the state of fraud and clawed back federal funding.
Trump, who owns a golf course in California, made clear he is not a fan of the state under Newsom’s leadership.
“People love the dream of California, but they hate what’s happening to them,” Trump said.
The state needs “proper leadership,” he said, arguing they are not getting it with their current governor.
“Gavin’s incompetent,” he said.
Newsom, who has been ripping off Trump’s brash social media style to raise his national profile, is leading the polling for the 2028 Democratic presidential primary, according to RealClearPolitics survey averages.
Newsom has 24% support among Democrats, compared to former Vice President Kamala Harris (21%), former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg (11%) and New York City Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (8%).
Trump predicted that Newsom’s record in California will haunt him on any campaign trail, in particular his “train to nowhere” high-speed rail project that is meant to connect Los Angeles to San Francisco.
The rail project — which costs $135 billion — is America’s most expensive train project to date.
Newsom bragged it was “back on track” during his State of the State speech earlier this month.
“Speaking of tracks, we’re finally laying them,” Newsom said, noting that more than 60 miles of guideway have been poured in the Central Valley, land has been acquired, and there is environmental clearance for most of the route.
The president made clear he’s not a fan.
“He has the train, the train to nowhere, that was supposed to be a simple train that went from San Francisco to Los Angeles,” he said. “It’s the greatest cost run over that I’ve ever seen.”
“I could have built that thing, and I could have built that thing in one year,” Trump said.
The train was originally scheduled to be completed six years ago in 2020. The new target date is sometime in 2030. But that would only be for a partial Central Valley segment between Bakersfield and Merced — far from the major cities.
Additionally, the project has been besieged by funding problems. Billions in federal dollars have been pulled, restored, and pulled again over the years — leaving California taxpayers on the hook to keep construction alive.
It’s not the only thing off track.
Trump said his relationship with Newsom has gone from friendly in his first term to now “hopeless.”
“I used to get along with him, but now it’s sort of a hopeless situation. They’ve gone radical left. They’re crazy,” he said.
Newsom, who is weighing a 2028 White House bid, was in Davos, Switzerland, the same time as Trump, for the World Economic Forum.
He made a splash criticizing Trump’s actions in office and accusing the assembled world leaders of bending the knee to the US president.
Trump confirmed to The Post the two men spoke in Switzerland but declined to get into the details of the conversation.
“I saw him in Davos,” he said. “I spoke to him. I spoke to him fine.”
