Trump's Guard Deployment Leaves California Governor in a Political Bind

Soon after scattered protests broke out in Los Angeles on June 6 in the wake of federal immigration raids, US President Donald Trump and California Governor Gavin Newsom spoke by phone.

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Mr. Trump never mentioned any federal response, according to Mr. Newsom, who described the conversation as "very cordial" on MSNBC on June 8.

Twenty-four hours later, Mr. Trump ordered thousands of National Guard troops to the state, bypassing Mr. Newsom and igniting another firestorm over his aggressive efforts to deport migrants living in the US illegally.

For Mr. Newsom, governor of the nation's most populous state and a potential 2028 Democratic presidential candidate, Mr. Trump's gambit has created substantial political risks.

Throughout Mr. Trump's first and second terms, Democratic governors have struggled to find the most effective approach to dealing with the mercurial Republican President; confronting Mr. Trump can result in backlash, but conceding ground sometimes encourages him to push harder.

Mr. Newsom and Mr. Trump have often clashed in the past, with Mr. Trump calling the governor "Newscum" and Mr. Newsom declaring after Mr. Trump's election victory that he would "Trump-proof" California.

During Mr. Trump's first months in office, however, Mr. Newsom has often opted for appeasement rather than antagonism — meeting the President on the tarmac when Mr. Trump visited during January's devastating wildfires and interviewing leading Mr. Trump acolytes such as Mr. Charlie Kirk and Mr. Steve Bannon on his new podcast.