California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) warned that the 2028 presidential election will be a “[Russian President Vladimir] Putin election” if his party doesn’t “stand up.”
“I’ll tell you what, we won’t have a country. We won’t have an election that’s fair and free if we don’t stand up, we won’t. There will not be a fair and free election — it’ll be a Putin election. Was it 87 percent or is it 87.3 percent?” Gavin Newsom told ABC News’s Jonathan Karl in a new interview.
“That’s what [President] Trump wants,” he added.”
Trump in recent days has said he would “love” to run for a third term as president, but signaled he is unlikely to do so. Some allies, including Steve Bannon, have flirted with the president doing so.
“It’s a very interesting thing. I have the best numbers for any president in many years,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One this week.
“And I would say that, if you read it, it’s pretty clear: I’m not allowed to run. It’s too bad,” Trump added. “But we have a lot of great people.”
Newsom, in the Wednesday ABC interview, called out Bannon, specifically.
“I’m deeply concerned about it,” the California Democrat said. “And guys like Bannon, they’re not screwing around. They’re not screwing around.”
The Hill has reached out to the White House for comment.
Other Democrats have sounded the alarm over the third term talk. But some Republicans have given the chatter more recognition in recent days.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said on Tuesday that many Americans “lament” the constrictions of the Constitution, and that “the Trump 2028 cap is one of the most popular that’s ever been produced.”
Newsom has led a Democratic redistricting push in California, as a national redistricting battle between Republicans and Democrats ensues.
Golden State voters seem likely to approve the new map next week.
“I’m afraid we’re going to lose our country. And where the hell is everybody? Why aren’t we standing up to principle?” Newsom said Wednesday.
