When Gavin Newsom stepped in front of a camera Tuesday evening, he was a California governor addressing his constituents as a crisis of civil disorder gripped pockets of Los Angeles.
But by the time Mr. Newsom was finished, it was clear the governor was speaking not only to his state but to his country, and his beleaguered party.
To Democrats looking for direction and leadership, Mr. Newsom used one of the highest profile moments of his political career to lay out the threat he argued President Trump posed to the nation, and how Americans should resist it. And he suggested he was the man to lead that fight.
“Democracy is under assault right before our eyes,” Mr. Newsom said. “The moment we’ve feared has arrived.”
The next presidential election is more than three years away. But it was hard to watch the speech, delivered as anti-Trump protests spread from Los Angeles to other cities, and not wonder if the 2028 campaign had already begun. This may well prove to be a turning point both for Mr. Newsom and for the Democratic Party.
Mr. Newsom has made little secret of his interest in running for president, and the speech, posted on his social media channels, was filled with the trappings of a nationally televised address from a White House candidate. He was flanked by an American and a California flag, dressed in a suit and tie, and he read from a prepared speech, which is unusual for the governor, who has dyslexia. A copy of his prepared text was released to the media in advance of its delivery, from a television studio in Los Angeles.
“He gave a kickoff to his 2028 campaign,” said Steve Bannon, a former top aide to Mr. Trump and a critic of Mr. Newsom.
The speech was the culmination of several days of battles between Mr. Newson and Mr. Trump that have captivated much of the nation. The immigration raids carried out by federal agents on Friday set off demonstrations across Los Angeles. Mr. Trump sent in the National Guard and the Marines despite Mr. Newsom’s objections, producing days of caustic exchanges.
It was also a reminder of how quickly Mr. Newsom’s standing has changed.
A month ago, Mr. Newsom seemed at times in danger of fading to the sidelines. At 57, he was playing out his final years as governor, since he is barred by term limits from seeking a third term.
He was facing the thankless burden of managing a huge state budget deficit, overseeing the rebuilding of Los Angeles after the January wildfires and grappling with Mr. Trump as the president moved to undercut signature California programs, from high-speed rail to clean air measures. For much of 2024, Mr. Newsom had been closely tied to Joe Biden, acting as one of the former president’s surrogates and defenders before Mr. Biden was forced out of the race.
Mr. Newsom had sought, in the first days of the Trump administration, to raise his profile and to influence the direction of the Democratic Party. He hosted a podcast — “This is Gavin Newsom” — in which he gave a platform to some of the leading figures in the Trump movement, including Mr. Bannon. He met Mr. Trump with a handshake at LAX when the president came to tour the damage from the fires. And he broke with many Democrats in saying that he thought that the participation of transgender athletes in women’s sports was “deeply unfair.”
Those actions made Mr. Newsom an unpopular figure with parts of the Democratic Party. It’s unclear whether his abrupt change, from saying Democrats needed to work with Mr. Trump to his searing attacks on the president on Tuesday, will feed apprehensions among some Democrats that Mr. Newsom is inauthentic or an opportunist.
But Mr. Newsom’s stature, at least in his party, was likely elevated by a barrage of attacks from Mr. Trump, Speaker Mike Johnson and other G.O.P. leaders in the aftermath of the demonstrations against the Trump administration’s immigration policies. Mr. Trump suggested Mr. Newsom be placed under arrest; Mr. Johnson said he should be “tarred and feathered.” As a result, the lame-duck governor of California has emerged as arguably the most prominent Democratic foil to Mr. Trump.
For his part, Mr. Newsom has seemed to relish parrying with Republicans on social media, responding to their comments with acid retorts that won him cheers from Democrats who had, not so long ago, been skeptical of Mr. Newsom’s friendly podcast banter with right-wing figures.
“It gives Gavin the ability to be a leader of a resistance that is not contrived,” said Rob Stutzman, a political strategist and a senior consultant to former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of California, a Republican. “It’s real, because Trump has attacked him and his state.”
For all the plaudits he may be winning from Democrats, Mr. Newsom could face tough going should he decide to run. He comes from California, the symbol of blue America and the home of Kamala Harris, the former vice president who lost to Mr. Trump in November’s election. And these next few weeks could prove increasingly difficult, as Mr. Newsom finds his fortunes tied both to what happens on the streets of Los Angeles and to the actions of the man in the White House.
David Axelrod, the former chief political aide to Barack Obama, said Mr. Newsom’s “message was very powerful.” But he warned that it is difficult to at once “admonish the president for his provocative, escalatory actions,” while at the same time urging “protesters to show restraint.”
Still, with his bristling attacks on Mr. Trump, Mr. Newsom may have positioned himself this week as the leader of the very resistance he once eschewed. The question is whether he can now do what so many other Democrats have failed to do over these chaotic five months: unite the party behind a strategy to weaken a president who has seemed invincible.
Adam Nagourney is a Times reporter covering government, political and cultural stories in California, focusing on the effort to rebuild Los Angeles after the fires. He also writes about national politics.
Laurel Rosenhall is a Sacramento-based reporter covering California politics and government for The Times.
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