California Governor Gavin Newsom is trading blows with the White House after a risky military stunt in his state went off the rails.
“We make a spelling mistake. You make deadly mistakes,” the top Democrat’s press team wrote Monday in his latest salvo against the Rapid Response 47 account, run by President Donald Trump’s office. “By the way, thanks for admitting you lied to Americans—live munitions were fired over a public freeway, putting civilians needlessly in harm’s way.”
Things first popped off late Thursday after Newsom’s account posted a New York Times headline that ran: “Military Plans to Fire Artillery Over California Freeway on Saturday.” The exercise, held at Camp Pendleton on the Southern California Coast to celebrate the Marines’ 250th anniversary, was later canceled after a shell prematurely exploded.
“This is a profoundly absurd show of force that could put Californians directly in harm’s way,” Newsom’s team wrote ahead of time. “Flying live rounds over a busy highway without coordination between state, federal, and local partners isn’t just wrong—it’s dangerous.”
Grok, Elon Musk’s AI-powered chatbot on the platform, only added fuel to the fire after a user tagged the account and asked whether the I-5 highway represented a “usual lane of fire” for the Marine base.
“No, firing artillery over I-5 isn’t routine for Camp Pendleton’s standard training ranges, which are typically contained within base boundaries away from public highways,” Grok replied, noting the unusual setup owed entirely to the anniversary celebrations, attended by Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Newsom’s office was quick to seize on the fact-checking bot’s contribution to the conversation. “Earlier this week, the White House denied the freeway near Camp Pendleton would need to be closed due to live munitions being fired over the freeway,” he wrote Saturday morning. “But today, despite the WH’s claims and lack of transparency, California traffic and public safety experts have recommended temporarily closing the freeway to best protect the public.
It was then that the Rapid Response 47 team first weighed in. “Newscum is lying,” they wrote in response. “He closed the highway — not only did nobody at the White House or the Marines ask him to do so, the Marines repeatedly said there are no public safety concerns with today’s exercises.”
During the live-fire session Saturday, however, shrapnel from the prematurely detonated shell is reported to have landed on a California Highway Patrol vehicle sent out to close the highway by Newsom. No injuries were reported.
“First, you misled Californians about the live munitions being shot over I-5. Then you accused the Governor of overreacting when he closed a portion of the freeway to protect the public,” Newsom’s team shot back. “And now we learn … live ordinance detonated early, striking a vehicle on a closed portion of the highway during the event. Without a doubt an apology is owed—to not just Californians, but all Americans.”
Trump’s office was having precisely none of it. “First of all, it’s ORDNANCE, you buffoons. An ‘ordinance’ is ‘an authoritative decree,”’so makes sense you’d confuse the two,” they raged. “Secondly, it was allegedly shrapnel, not the ordnance, that left a tiny ‘dent/scratch’ on a vehicle’s hood. GOD BLESS OUR GREAT MARINES!”
The post Newsom and White House Exchange Blows Over Chaotic Military Stunt appeared first on The Daily Beast.
