California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) mocked Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and President Trump in a post on the social platform X on Sunday amid tension between the governor and the Trump administration over protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
In response to a Sunday post on X from Hegseth featuring a screenshot of another post from Trump on his Truth Social platform congratulating the National Guard for doing a “great job” in Los Angeles following “two days of violence, clashes and unrest,” Newsom mocked Hegseth and Trump as “smart guys.”
“Smart guys running the operation. The National Guard wasn’t even deployed on the ground when Trump posted this. Pete Hegseth runs the Pentagon as well as he throws an axe on a Fox News set,” Newsom said in his own X post on Sunday, referencing a 2015 incident in which a man was struck by an axe tossed by Hegseth.
Trump deployed 2,000 National Guard members to the Los Angeles area on Saturday amid protests against ICE. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said previously the action was due to “violent mobs” recently attacking “Federal Law Enforcement Agents carrying out basic deportation operations.”
“These operations are essential to halting and reversing the invasion of illegal criminals into the United States. In the wake of this violence, California’s feckless Democrat leaders have completely abdicated their responsibility to protect their citizens. That is why President Trump has signed a Presidential Memorandum deploying 2,000 National Guardsmen to address the lawlessness that has been allowed to fester,” Leavitt said.
California National Guard troops started arriving in Los Angeles on Sunday morning, with U.S. Northern Command saying on X that the California National Guard had proceeded with deploying troops in the Los Angeles area, “with some already on the ground.”
Newsom’s press office also went after the Trump administration over the situation in Los Angeles, with one post on X referencing the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riots, and slamming another post from the Department of Homeland Security about “violent rioters.”
The Hill has reached out to the White House, the Pentagon and the Department of Homeland Security for comment.
