President Trump voiced disbelief that California Gov. Gavin Newsom is contemplating a run for the presidency, saying the governor’s stewardship of the state makes such ambitions hard to fathom. Trump argued that California’s problems under Newsom’s leadership would undermine any national campaign.
“I’m amazed Gavin wants to run for office,” Trump told The California Post in an Oval Office interview following his administration’s legal action against California over sanctuary policies, allegations of fraud, and the move to reclaim federal funds.
Trump, who owns a golf course in the state, said his view of California has soured as conditions there have deteriorated during Newsom’s tenure.
“People love the dream of California, but they hate what’s happening to them,” Trump said.
He added that the state is suffering from a lack of effective leadership, contending that its current governor has failed to deliver.
“Gavin’s incompetent,” he said.
Newsom has been adopting a sharper social media approach as he builds a national profile and currently tops early polling for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination, according to RealClearPolitics averages.
Those figures show Newsom with 24% support among Democrats, ahead of former Vice President Kamala Harris at 21%, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg at 11%, and New York City Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez at 8%.
Trump predicted that Newsom’s tenure in California would be a central issue on the campaign trail, pointing in particular to the state’s troubled high-speed rail initiative intended to link Los Angeles and San Francisco.
The rail effort, now estimated to cost $135 billion, is the most expensive train project in U.S. history.
Earlier this month, Newsom touted progress on the project during his State of the State address.
“Speaking of tracks, we’re finally laying them,” Newsom said, citing more than 60 miles of guideway completed in the Central Valley, land acquisitions, and environmental approvals for much of the route.
Trump dismissed those claims and reiterated his criticism of the project.
“He has the train, the train to nowhere, that was supposed to be a simple train that went from San Francisco to Los Angeles,” he said. “It’s the greatest cost run over that I’ve ever seen.”
“I could have built that thing, and I could have built that thing in one year,” Trump said.
Originally slated for completion in 2020, the rail line is now projected to reach a limited Central Valley segment between Bakersfield and Merced sometime around 2030, well short of California’s largest cities.
The project has also faced persistent financing troubles, with federal funding repeatedly withdrawn and reinstated, leaving state taxpayers responsible for keeping construction moving.
Trump suggested that the rail project is emblematic of broader issues in the state.
He also said his personal relationship with Newsom has deteriorated sharply since his first term.
“I used to get along with him, but now it’s sort of a hopeless situation. They’ve gone radical left. They’re crazy,” he said.
Newsom, as he weighs a 2028 presidential bid, attended the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, at the same time as Trump.
During the gathering, Newsom publicly criticized Trump’s actions in office and accused global leaders of yielding to the U.S. president.
Trump confirmed to The NY Post that he briefly spoke with Newsom in Davos but declined to elaborate.
“I saw him in Davos,” he said. “I spoke to him. I spoke to him fine.”
{Matzav.com}
President Donald Trump said Monday that Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz reached out to him directly and expressed support for sending border czar Tom Homan to the state amid intensifying confrontations between protesters and federal immigration agents, the NY Post reports.
“Governor Tim Walz called me with the request to work together with respect to Minnesota. It was a very good call, and we, actually, seemed to be on a similar wavelength,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
“He was happy that Tom Homan was going to Minnesota, and so am I!,” the president added.
The exchange marked a shift in tone following weeks of sharp public criticism between the two leaders after Trump ordered expanded ICE operations in Minnesota last month.
Trump struck an optimistic note about future coordination, indicating the conversation would not be a one-off.
“Both Governor Walz and I want to make it better!,” he declared.
Walz later characterized the discussion as constructive, saying Trump agreed to “look into reducing the number of federal agents” operating in the state. The governor also said he pressed the president to allow a state-level investigation into recent incidents.
Walz said he reminded Trump that the Minnesota Department of Corrections routinely notifies ICE “when a person committed to its custody isn’t a U.S. citizen.”
The conciliatory tone contrasted sharply with Walz’s remarks just a day earlier, when he likened Trump’s immigration actions in Minnesota to those of Nazi Germany.
“We have got children in Minnesota hiding in their houses, afraid to go outside,” Walz said at a press conference. “Many of us grew up reading that story of Anne Frank.”
Minnesota has emerged as a focal point of Trump’s nationwide immigration enforcement push. About 3,000 ICE agents are currently operating in Minneapolis, and a senior ICE official told CBS News that roughly 3,400 arrests have been made in the area.
The heightened enforcement has coincided with rising unrest following the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse. Video from the scene showed officers restraining Pretti on the ground amid shouts that he had a gun. An officer was seen removing Pretti’s 9mm handgun, with the slide appearing to move during the struggle, suggesting the weapon may have discharged before officers opened fire.
The incident occurred just 17 days after the death of Renee Good, also 37, who was killed after accelerating her vehicle toward an ICE officer in Minneapolis.
In the wake of the shootings, protests intensified across the city.
Trump announced Monday that Homan would be dispatched to oversee federal operations in Minnesota.
“[Homan] has not been involved in that area, but knows and likes many of the people there,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Tom is tough but fair, and will report directly to me.”
The move prompted questions about Trump’s confidence in Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who has described Pretti and Good as domestic terrorists. A White House official told The Post that the president maintains full confidence in Noem, adding that Homan “is uniquely positioned to drop everything and focus solely on Minnesota.”
According to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, Homan will oversee ICE activity on the ground to help “continue arresting the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens,” while also coordinating with officials handling “the massive, widespread fraud” investigations underway in the state.
Despite the cooperative language following Monday’s call, Trump has continued to criticize Walz publicly. Last month, he referred to the governor as “seriously retarded.”
{Matzav.com}
President Donald Trump escalated his criticism of what he calls “fake and fraudulent polling” on Monday, arguing that the practice should be treated as a criminal matter and accusing major media outlets of intentionally misleading voters and attempting to sway election outcomes.
In an extended post on Truth Social, Trump said large news organizations knowingly circulated inaccurate polling data during the 2024 election cycle in order to dampen voter enthusiasm and manipulate public opinion.
“Fake and Fraudulent Polling should be, virtually, a criminal offense,” Trump wrote, singling out surveys promoted by The New York Times, ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, and MSNBC, which he said were “knowingly wrong” and reflected “nothing even close to the final results.”
According to Trump, the polls were designed to influence the election narrative despite what he described as a sweeping victory at the ballot box.
“I won in a Landslide, including winning the Popular Vote, all 7 of the 7 Swing States, the Electoral College was a rout, and 2,750 Counties to 525,” he wrote. “You can’t do much better than that.”
Trump said that while he has also taken issue at times with polling from Fox News and The Wall Street Journal, independent pollsters who accurately gauged voter sentiment were largely ignored by mainstream outlets.
“There are great Pollsters that called the Election right, but the Media does not want to use them in any way, shape, or form,” Trump wrote, describing the situation as a “Polling SCAM” and criticizing what he sees as the decline of American journalism.
The comments come as Trump continues to pursue legal action against The New York Times. Last week, he said he plans to add the Times/Siena poll to his defamation lawsuit, accusing the paper of publishing “fake results” skewed heavily in favor of Democrats.
The most recent Times/Siena survey showed Trump with a 40% approval rating and 56% disapproval one year into his current term. The poll also reported that nearly half of respondents believe the country is worse off under Trump, a conclusion he strongly disputed.
“The Times Siena Poll, which is always tremendously negative to me, especially just before the Election of 2024, where I won in a Landslide, will be added to my lawsuit,” Trump wrote in a separate post Thursday.
Trump said his legal team has formally demanded documentation detailing how the poll was conducted and how its results were calculated.
Trump originally filed suit against The New York Times and several of its reporters last year, alleging defamation tied to coverage of his 2024 campaign. Although a federal judge dismissed the initial case, Trump refiled the lawsuit in October, and the matter remains pending.
For years, conservatives have argued that establishment polling consistently undercounts Republican voters, particularly those in working-class and rural communities, while overstating Democratic turnout. A series of high-profile polling failures in recent election cycles has further fueled doubts about the reliability of mainstream surveys.
Trump said he plans to continue confronting media organizations he believes are misusing their influence.
“They have become deranged and sick,” he wrote. “They suffer from TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME. They have to pay a price for FAKE AND FRAUDULENT NEWS — and hopefully, they will.”
{Matzav.com}
Opposition leaders Yair Lapid and Benny Gantz sharply attacked the government on Monday over efforts to advance legislation regulating the draft status of yeshiva students, warning that the bill would not pass and accusing the coalition of deceiving the public and undermining Israel’s security.
Speaking at the opening of their faction meetings in the Knesset, Lapid and Gantz delivered blistering criticism of what they described as a draft-evasion law. Both leaders framed their remarks against the backdrop of the ongoing war and the recovery operation to bring home the body of fallen Yassam fighter Ran Gvili Hy”d.
Gantz opened by addressing the military effort, saying: “First of all, we are all praying for the success of the operation to return the heroic Yassam fighter Ran Gvili and strengthening the IDF soldiers who are working for this sacred goal at these hours. No further easing in the Gaza Strip should be allowed until we fully exhaust the current efforts to return Ran to his family and to his land.”
He went on to outline his broader security stance, arguing that any move to a second phase must focus on dismantling Hamas rather than offering concessions. “Moving to Phase Two must begin with dismantling Hamas rule and its military power — not with an oxygen pipe for Hamas. The Rafah Crossing is only a symptom. As we said from the start of the war, the hostages should have been released as a priority — and then Hamas eliminated. Now, when we no longer have living hostages in the Strip, we also no longer have operational constraints. The job must be finished.”
Gantz further said Israel should coordinate with President Trump on a clear deadline for Hamas to disarm and relinquish control. “Even if it is right to give Trump’s initiative a chance, we must not live in the illusions of October 6. Turkish soldiers, Qatari soldiers, or even American soldiers will not eliminate Hamas. Only IDF soldiers will. In my assessment, it is not a question of if — only when. We will finish the job.”
Turning to the draft issue, Gantz said the IDF urgently needs reinforcement in manpower and resources. “The deal being formed right now of budget in exchange for draft evasion is not only corrupt and destructive to the economy. It severely harms those who serve. It sabotages our ability to bring about the final collapse of Hamas rule. It is insane to me that after everything we have been through, the government is still busy dismantling the people’s army instead of dismantling Hamas.”
Addressing Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and senior Likud ministers by name, Gantz asked: “Is it really worth it to you for another three months on the chair?”
Gantz added that he has been speaking in recent weeks with serving and former Likud lawmakers and senior figures who oppose the legislation. “I am telling you: a draft exemption law will not pass. More importantly, I hear an awakening. There are many in Likud and also in Religious Zionism — serving and former Knesset members, together with key figures — who will not agree to the continuation of this destructive deal. They will not back the establishment of another government of draft evaders and extremists. This experiment not only failed and brought us disaster — it collapsed.”
He concluded by saying that the only viable solution is a broad unity government made up of those who serve. “And that is what will be.”
Opposition leader Yair Lapid followed with an even more confrontational address, declaring that a clear majority in the Knesset opposes the proposed law. “In the Knesset of Israel there are not only 61 members who are against the draft-evasion law, there are 71, maybe even 81. They just need to decide that they are not willing to deceive the fighters. The draft-evasion law will not pass. We will stop it, and there will be a real draft law. Whoever does not enlist will not receive a single shekel. We will shut off the tap, and you will see how fast they enlist.”
Lapid accused the government of continuing what he called a “disgraceful farce” despite recordings that, he said, exposed the law as fraudulent. “I have one question for Netanyahu and Bismuth: why? Why are you continuing this shameful farce after the rabbis’ recordings exposed that this is a complete deception? Who are you fooling? You have been exposed. Everyone knows. The game is over.”
He cited recorded statements attributed to rabbinic figures, saying: “Rav Hirsch says in his own voice, ‘There will be no targets, God forbid that we meet targets.’ He says — and I quote, it was recorded — ‘Do they think we will want to meet the target? Of course we won’t want to. In the end the law will fall after a few years, but in the meantime we gained time.’ He admits in his own voice that this is what was agreed with him, a complete fraud law whose only purpose is to buy time.”
Lapid continued by quoting additional alleged remarks: “Rav Landau says, ‘It’s all nonsense, no one will go to the army.’ Rabbi Yehuda Cohen, a Shas representative, says, ‘The heads of the yeshivas will not send anyone.’ When asked why they pretend otherwise, he answers without blinking, ‘So that the decrees will be canceled.’ Meaning, so the budgets will return.”
He accused the government of financial motivations, saying: “This fraud, like any fraud, is also about money. Sixty billion shekels the State of Israel gives every year to draft evaders. When it comes to taking our money, they suddenly know the State of Israel very well. These people relate to the State of Israel as if it were a foreign state of gentiles, that it is a mitzvah to deceive it — and Deri and Netanyahu help them.”
Lapid concluded by reiterating his pledge to block the legislation. “This law will not pass, because there is a limit. We will stop it and there will be a real draft law. Whoever does not enlist will not receive a single shekel from the state — no daycare subsidies, no allowances, nothing. We will shut off the tap, and you will see how fast they enlist.”
{Matzav.com}
A budget standoff is escalating in the Senate as Democrats threaten to block government funding unless the Department of Homeland Security is sidelined, while Republicans accuse them of attempting to impose what they call a “mob veto” on law enforcement.
Republicans made their position clear Monday, warning they will not yield to demands tied to defunding immigration enforcement. “Democrats want to shut down the government — again — unless ICE is defunded,” the Senate Republicans’ X account posted. “Not a chance. There can be no mob veto on enforcing the law.”
The clash comes as Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., prepares to block the DHS portion of a six-bill appropriations package as lawmakers race toward Friday’s midnight deadline, when the current continuing resolution expires and a shutdown would take effect.
Democrats’ move follows the deadly shooting involving ICE in Minnesota over the weekend, which has reignited tensions after last fall’s record-setting government shutdown. Schumer has made clear that Democrats intend to halt DHS funding unless changes are made.
“Senate Democrats will not allow the current DHS funding bill to move forward,” Schumer said, according to a statement posted Sunday to X by Punchbowl News’ Jake Sherman. “Senate Republicans have seen the same horrific footage that all Americans have watched of the blatant abuses of Americans by ICE in Minnesota.
“The appalling murders of Renee Good and Alex Pretti on the streets of Minneapolis must lead Republicans to join Democrats in overhauling ICE and CBP to protect the public. People should be safe from abuse by their own government.
“Senate Republicans must work with Democrats to advance the other five funding bills while we work to rewrite the DHS bill. This is best course of action, and the American people are on our side.”
Republican senators quickly rejected that approach, framing it as an attempt to paralyze federal law enforcement through public pressure. Among them was Senate Republican Conference Chair Tom Cotton of Arkansas.
“The deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti are regrettable tragedies,” Cotton wrote Sunday night on X. “They could’ve been avoided — & further unrest can be avoided — if state & local officials work with federal law enforcement and stop encouraging civilians to interfere.
“There can be no mob veto on enforcing the law.”
While Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., has not publicly weighed in on the DHS funding fight, several outspoken supporters of President Donald Trump and tougher border enforcement have issued firm statements opposing any cuts.
“Democrats opened the border and allowed many dangerous criminals to invade America,” Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., wrote Monday on X. “Minnesota Democrats are inciting violence and obstruction of federal law enforcement.
“Now, Senate Democrats are threatening to defund the very agency tasked with cleaning up their mess.
“I will oppose any effort to defund DHS.”
Johnson’s remarks echoed those of Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., who also vowed to block any reduction in DHS funding.
“I will be returning to D.C. very soon,” Scott wrote Sunday on X. “I want to be very clear. @DHSgov needs to continue to be fully funded.
“I will not support any efforts to strip DHS of its funding.”
Republicans currently hold a slim majority in the Senate, with the balance of power allowing Vice President JD Vance to cast a tie-breaking vote if necessary on legislation advancing under budget reconciliation rules. In the 119th Congress, Republicans control 53 seats, Democrats hold 45, and two seats are held by independents.
Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, who chairs the National Republican Senatorial Committee and whose state has been grappling with deadly ice storms, has not issued a public statement on the DHS funding dispute.
{Matzav.com}
