When Gov. Gavin Newsom met President Trump at the foot of Air Force One in Los Angeles on Friday, some Democrats say it weakened his typically bullish approach.
Newsom, who thanked Trump for coming to the state to tour areas ravaged by wildfires, went as far as saying Trump supported the state during the COVID-19 pandemic. “I don’t forget that,” Newsom told Trump before a gaggle of reporters.
“It seemed a little hat-in-hand,” said one Democratic strategist in the state.
But Newsom’s allies say the governor was sending a strong message, showing up at the airport even though he wasn’t invited and advocating for his state to secure additional disaster aid.
The image of the two men underscored how he was able to put politics aside to work with a political adversary like Trump, who has frequently referred to the California Democrat as “Newscum.”
“The message was sent loud and clear,” said Garry South, a Los Angeles-based political strategist who served as a senior adviser to Newsom in his first bid for governor. “I thought it was a brilliant move. It was important for Gov. Newsom to be there and not shy away from the President of the United States. And it enhanced Newsom’s standing as someone who can stand up to Trump.”
The face-to-face with Trump had been a capstone on a tumultuous month for Newsom, who has been criticized for his performance as governor during what has been one of the worst disasters in his state.
As fires continue to burn in Los Angeles, Newsom has sought to go on offense, conducting a string of interviews while posting a page on his website entitled “California Fire Facts” where he disputes accusations and “lies.”
A number of Democrats say Newsom has been hurt by his handling of the fires, and by how the response to the disaster is perceived across the country.
They say Newsom has yet to have a real discussion to date about what happened and how he plans on ensuring that fires don’t wreak havoc on residents again.
“I think he is deeply f – – – -ed, bluntly,” said one California-based Democratic strategist. “It is undoubtedly true that his stock has dropped. I think his donor-base will dry up. I think he’ll have a real tough time clawing his way back.”
One top Los Angeles-based Democratic donor agreed, saying Newsom will be “politically destroyed or close to destroyed because of indefensible allegations on the preparation and immediate response.”
“All they need to do is show the devastation on political ads and he’ll be destroyed,” the donor added.
People close to Newsom insist the politically-savvy governor isn’t thinking about his political future.
Izzy Gardon, a spokesperson for Newsom, said in a statement that “the governor is solely focused on the ongoing response and recovery effort — not politics.”
Newsom garnered attention from Democrats during the Biden presidency because he was seen as bold and brash, a contrast of sorts to the just-exited President Biden, who seldom took a proactive swing against Donald Trump and other Republicans including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
At the time, Democrats gravitated toward Newsom’s approach, saying that they needed a leader like the governor who wasn’t afraid to get in the faces of Republicans.
But other Democrats say Newsom’s problems are less about the fires and more about perceptions that had been set-in while before Trump’s second win, but are perhaps even more problematic now.
“The fires certainly didn’t help but the more burning problem for him is he’s the walking caricature of the out of touch elitist that many people think Democrats have become,” one Democratic strategist said.
Newsom is not popular in California.
A poll by the Public Policy Institute of California in June found 62 percent said the state is headed in the wrong direction. Newsom was also underwater, the poll showed, with 44 percent saying they approved of his performance as governor.
Mike Madrid, a political consultant based in the state, said Californians “have a very strong concern about its direction, its future and whether it’s working.”
Still, Madrid said Newsom has a chance to recover politically through his handling of the recovery effort after the fires. That is “going to be far more important than the narrative that was set about the fire itself.”
When Newsom met Trump at the airport on Friday, the friendly approach surprised skeptical strategists, like Madrid, who acknowledged that he originally thought it was a bad idea.
“But seeing it play out, it was the right thing to do,” he said. “I think he definitely got the upper hand.”
Political observers say it’s a delicate dance for Newsom, who wants to advocate for his state while being seen as someone who won’t give in to Trump, keeping him viable for the 2028 primary.
“He has to thread that needle to be able to get that support we need for this rebuilding effort,” said Christina Bellantoni, the director for the University of Southern California’s Annenberg’s Media Center and a former editor at the Los Angeles Times.
One wrong move for Newsom and it could taint his political prospects, she said.
“It definitely could,” Bellantoni said, pointing to the complaints about the empty reservoirs and fire hydrants. “Every failure is exposed. And whether that’s a failure you can link directly to Newsom…people don’t make this distinction when they’re reading a headline.”
Some think the wildfires would cause a shift to the right statewide during the 2026 elections and that Newsom would be held responsible.
“There are a lot of people who think that the Democratic Party has gotten complacent and I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw record split-ticket voting with people voting blue for federal and red statewide,” one strategist said.
South disagreed. Newsom, he said, is “a national political force and he’s made himself into that.”
“We Democrats needed someone who was willing to step up to the plate, who has force of personality, who has charisma to make the case against Trump,” he said.
