At a press conference following the successful passing of Proposition 50, California Governor Gavin Newsom stressed the importance of continuing to resist President Donald Trump’s attempts to destroy the country and “light democracy on fire.”
Newsom called the successful measure a victory “not just for the Democratic Party, but for the United States of America and the principles our Founding Fathers lived and died for.”
“We’re proud of the work that the people of the state of California did tonight to send a powerful message to a historic president. Donald Trump is a historic president. He is the most historically unpopular president in modern history. In every critical category, Donald Trump is under water. He promised to make us healthier, he promised to make us wealthier. We’re sicker and poor,” Newsom continued.
“He fundamentally understands that. Why else would he call [Texas Governor] Greg Abbott saying he’s entitled to five seats? Why else is he trying to rig the midterm elections before one single vote is even cast?”
California’s Proposition 50 was proposed by Newsom to counter-balance the Republican gerrymandering taking place in red states across the country by delivering as many as five seats into the hands of Democrats. It passed on Tuesday with an overwhelming majority of the vote.
Newsom celebrated the win, saying, “We stood tall and we stood stood firm in response to Donald Trump’s recklessness. And tonight, after poking the bear, this bear roared with an unprecedented turnout in a special election with an extraordinary result.”
Not content to rest on his laurels, however, the governor then issued a word of warning, telling voters, “None of us, however, are naive. This is a pattern. This is a practice. Donald Trump’s efforts to rig the midterm election continue to this day.”
Referring to Republican gerrymandering efforts nationwide as well as Trump’s deployment of the National Guard in multiple cities, including Los Angeles, he said, “You’re seeing him take action all across this country… they are not screwing around.”
Tonight, California sent a powerful message to Donald Trump. We will fight for our democracy. And we will win. pic.twitter.com/tEcPlxVbi4
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) November 5, 2025
Newsom continued, “This is a victory that’s punctuated with a sober reminder that it’s not just the actions that Donald Trump has taken to federalize our guard, to begin the process of militarizing American cities, to intimidate free expression and speech by utilizing ICE and Border Patrol in American cities.”
“He also announced today, right when polls were opening, that this election was rigged. Of course, those are familiar words. It’s exactly what Donald Trump said after January 6th, that day of love, where he tried to light democracy on fire, he tried to wreck this country.” Earlier on Tuesday, the president doubled down on his claims that the election in California was rigged, calling it a “giant scam” in a Truth Social post.
“I hope it’s dawning on people the sobriety of this moment. What’s at stake. Tonight, as I said, is an extraordinary moment for our party, but again, it’s an extraordinary moment affirming those principles. Our founding fathers did not live and die to see the kind of vandalism to this republic and our democracy that Donald Trump is trying to perpetuate,” Newsom told reporters.
He ended his speech with a simple message for Democrats nationwide, telling them, “We need to see other states with the remarkable leaders that have been doing remarkable things meet this moment head on as well, to recognize what we’re up against in 2026.”
“Let me make this crystal clear: we can de facto end Donald Trump’s presidency as we know it,” he concluded.
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