Republican strategist Scott Jennings blasted California Governor Gavin Newsom Tuesday night, accusing him of using a crisis to launch a presidential bid. Jennings appeared on CNN from Israel and didn’t hold back, calling Newsom’s televised remarks “opportunistic” and disconnected from the reality on the ground.
Newsom delivered an eight-minute speech earlier in the evening, criticizing President Trump for “commandeering” National Guard troops and choosing “escalation” after days of anti-ICE riots. His remarks followed Democratic Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass declaring a curfew after five straight nights of violent unrest.
“It’s amazing to me. First of all, this guy is the governor of a state, and it has got one of its most important cities burning on his watch, and he’s out here launching a presidential campaign,” Jennings said to CNN host Kaitlan Collins. “There’s no other way to listen to what happened and not conclude that he just launched his presidential campaign on top of this lawlessness that’s going on in California.”
Jennings accused Newsom and the Democratic Party of enabling illegal immigration. “He governs a failed state. He sits atop of a failed state, and he sits, I guess, at the leadership right now of a political party that’s wanting to coddle the illegal invasion of our country, that’s causing what’s happening,” he said.
He also defended Trump’s decision to deploy the National Guard to restore order. “It’s not particularly controversial for Donald Trump to enforce federal law, our immigration laws, and, yet, to Democrats and Gavin Newsom, it’s an affront to them for the president of the United States to enforce federal law,” Jennings argued. “All that’s happening in California is that a bunch of foreign nationals have occupied large swaths of the United States. One city is burning, and the president of the United States is trying to bring order. That’s all that’s happening.”
Jennings said Newsom’s speech focused on everything except the real crisis. “We get this litany of complaints from Gavin Newsom about everything, about how much the Democrats in California have failed,” he said. “I don’t think it’s going to resonate with the American people. I think it’s going to look opportunistic, and people are going to wonder why in the world is the governor of California complaining about Harvard when one of his cities is on fire?”
Meanwhile, LAPD Chief Jim McDowell reported nearly 200 arrests after rioters set fires and attacked ICE agents. ABC7 said at least five self-driving vehicles were vandalized—two were torched.
The FBI identified one suspect, Elpidio Reyna, seen on video throwing rocks at ICE vehicles. They’ve offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to his arrest on federal assault charges.