President Donald Trump had some harsh thoughts on a potential 2028 run for the White House from California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D).
During an interview with the California Post, which launched on Monday, Trump blasted Newsom’s leadership in the Golden State as “incompetent” as he weighed in on the possibility that the governor could launch a bid in the next presidential election.
“I’m amazed Gavin wants to run for office,” Trump said of one of his biggest critics during an interview in the Oval Office on Friday.
Trump argued that California needs “proper leadership,” claiming that Newsom hasn’t delivered since he began leading the state in 2019.
“People love the dream of California, but they hate what’s happening to them,” Trump said, describing the Democratic governor as “incompetent.”
Newsom has yet to formally announce a run for office, but has dominated as a top contender in several early polls, which have also floated former Vice President Kamala Harris, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, among others.
Trump has previously suggested Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio as a possible Republican ticket.
In the interview, Trump went on to predict that California’s high-speed rail project, expected to connect San Francisco and Los Angeles, will negatively impact Newsom’s chances on the campaign trail.
Federal funding for the proposal came to a stop this month, while the project remained behind schedule and billions of dollars over budget, according to KMPH-TV. It was estimated to cost up to $128 billion — almost four times the original $33 billion price tag — while a report from the U.S. Transportation Department said it was unlikely to reach a complete target for its initial segment by 2033.
The halt came as California dismissed its lawsuit in December that challenged the termination of $4 billion in Obama- and Biden-era federal grants, which the Trump administration has repeatedly tried to withdraw. Meanwhile, the House passed an appropriations bill last week that included a provision making the project ineligible for federal funding.
“He has the train, the train to nowhere, that was supposed to be a simple train that went from San Francisco to Los Angeles,” Trump said, adding that “It’s the greatest cost runover that I’ve ever seen.”
The president noted that he could have built “that thing in one year.”
Trump also said his relationship with Newsom has become “hopeless” from once friendly during his first term.
“They’ve gone radical left,” Trump said. “They’re crazy.”
Trump made a similar claim while he addressed the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where Newsom was in attendance, last week.
“We’re going to help the people in California,” Trump said. “We want to have no crime.”
“I know Gavin was here. I used to get along so great with Gavin when I was president. Gavin’s a good guy,” he continued, saying that he would help Newsom “in a heartbeat.”
Trump confirmed to the Post that they both privately spoke, but declined to give details of the conversation.
“I spoke to him fine,” he said.
