Newsom: Trump Isn't Into 'Free and Fair' Elections

Gavin Newsom has a message for Democrats and the US electorate in general: "Wake up." The California governor's warning came Wednesday at a Politico summit, where he said "the rule of law is being replaced by the rule of Don" and called for Americans to "stand tall" against attacks on democracy. The outlet notes Newsom took an "angry and pugilistic" tone while speaking about President Trump and what Newsom describes as a nation on the cusp of plunging into authoritarianism. Other standout quotes, per Politico, the Daily Beast, and the Los Angeles Times:

• Elections: "I don't think Donald Trump wants another election," Newsom said. "This is serious, guys. This guy doesn't believe in free and fair elections; he tried to wreck this country. Were you there January 6? ... He tried to light democracy on fire. ... Now he's doing it in plain sight."

• Third term for Trump? Newsom thinks that's something the commander in chief might have percolating: "Who spends $200 million on a ballroom at their home and then leaves?" Newsom added that he has "two dozen Trump 2028 hats his folks keep sending me."
• ICE and Border Patrol: "All that funding and that 'big beautiful betrayal' allows more resources for this private police force that increasingly is showing a tendency not to swear an oath to the Constitution, but to the president of the United States."
• Democrats: On his own party pushing back against the Trump administration, Newsom, a possible presidential contender in 2028, noted, "The essence of the challenge to the party is weakness." He said Americans prefer "strong and wrong to weak and right," and that "our party needs to wake up to that. ... We have to use every tool at our disposal to not only assert ourselves, but prove ourselves to the American people."
• Online trolling: Newsom also addressed his social media attacks on Trump that have been drawing attention. "We have a 'Kill Switch,'" he joked on whether he gives his final OK to those posts, adding that he's been nixing posts "less every day."