Democrat Gavin Newsom, who is in Brazil to participate in a conference, is one of Donald Trump’s main opponents
Member of and one of the main opponents of the governor of California,is in Brazil to participate in events related to COP-30. He stated on Monday (10) that the absence of a United States representative at the conference is “jaw-dropping”.
“The reason I’m here (in Brazil) is the absence of US leadership. This vacuum is truly jaw-dropping. There is no representative, none, not even an observer, nor anyone taking notes on what is happening in Belém,” he said. “We have seen this complete reversal of much of the progress that the Biden administration has made.”
The statement was made during the Global Investor Symposium in São Paulo, held by the Milken Institute, to debate sustainability and innovation in business. When talking about California’s partnerships on environmental issues, Newsom also stated that there is “an ideological war at the federal level” in the USA. “And we are as dumb as we want to be. We are doubling down on stupidity in the US, but not in my state,” he added.
Disagreements regardinghowever, are just another chapter in the fight between Newsom and Trump, which has intensified in recent months and helped the Democrat gain national prominence.
Who is Gavin Newsom?
Newsom was mayor of San Francisco, between 2004 and 2011, and served two terms as lieutenant governor of California, between 2011 and 2019. He was elected governor of the most populous state in the US in 2018, after beating Republican John H. Cox, with more than 60% of the vote.
The Democrat faced criticism from opponents due to the restrictive measures imposed during the pandemic, which led to a recall campaign – a vote to remove the governor before the end of his term – in 2021, which was rejected by the majority of voters.
The following year, he was re-elected, with almost 60% of the votes, for a term that ends next year. He cannot run for re-election, but he must not stay away from politics. On the contrary: the Associated Press agency stated that he intends to run in the 2028 presidential elections for the Democratic Party.
On his government’s website, Newsom says he brought same-sex marriage to the center of the national debate when he was mayor of San Francisco. He is also in favor of gun regulation and defending the right to abortion.
Fight with Trump
The contentious relationship with Trump has helped Newsom become a better-known face in the country. Despite publicly criticizing the Republican frequently since his victorious 2018 campaign, the governor has raised his tone in recent months, especially after the federal administration took control of the California National Guard in June this year and sent troops to Los Angeles to suppress demonstrations against Trump’s anti-immigration policies.
The fight between the two reached the point where the president stated that he would support the governor’s arrest. Newsom had argued with White House border “czar” Tom Homam, who stated that anyone, including public officials, would be arrested if they obstructed the arrests of illegal immigrants. The Democrat called Homam a “bully” and said he could go after him to “get this over with.”
When asked about the clash, Trump replied that he would arrest Newsom if he were Homam. “I would do that if I were Tom. I think it’s great,” he said. “Gavin likes the publicity, but I think it would be a big deal. He did a terrible job.” Even after the reduction of tensions in Los Angeles, Newsom did not stop needling Trump and questioning the president’s ability to govern.
Trump said Monday in an interview with Fox News that Newson “has radicalized to the left” and that he “is taking a large part of the Palisades (Los Angeles neighborhood) or some area like that” to “build affordable housing where there used to be luxury housing.” In response to these claims, Newsom shared a question he asked ChatGPT: “Do people with dementia repeat lies over and over again?”
*With information from Estadão Conteúdo
