'Wake up' America, Gavin Newsom says, warning that Donald Trump wants third term in office Josh Meyer, USA TODAY August 28, 2025 at 7:49 PM California Governor Gavin Newsom says he thinks President Donald Trump will seek to remain in office beyond his constitutional term in 2028, and use federal age...
- - 'Wake up' America, Gavin Newsom says, warning that Donald Trump wants third term in office
Josh Meyer, USA TODAY August 28, 2025 at 7:49 PM
California Governor Gavin Newsom says he thinks President Donald Trump will seek to remain in office beyond his constitutional term in 2028, and use federal agents to try to rig future elections in his and his Republican supporters' favor.
Newsom, who has acknowledged he might run for president in 2028, has become one of the Democratic party's most forceful and visible critics of Trump. He gave what appeared to be his most extensive and full-throated warnings about the current president, and the state of American democracy, in a 48-minute Aug. 27 interview at POLITICO's "The California Agenda: Sacramento Summit."
The United States is on the precipice of tipping into authoritarianism, Newsom said, because of actions taken by Trump including using federal immigration agents as "the largest private police force in history" for his own political benefit.
More: 'Don't poke the bear': Newsom uses Trump's punchy style to make 2028 case
California Governor Gavin Newsom speaks at East Los Angeles College on Feb. 26, 2025 in Monterey Park, Calif. Newsom announced the California Jobs First Economic Blueprint and additional funding for Los Angeles communities impacted by wildfires today.
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California Governor Gavin Newsom speaks at East Los Angeles College on Feb. 26, 2025 in Monterey Park, Calif. Newsom announced the California Jobs First Economic Blueprint and additional funding for Los Angeles communities impacted by wildfires today.
">California Governor Gavin Newsom speaks at East Los Angeles College on Feb. 26, 2025 in Monterey Park, Calif. Newsom announced the California Jobs First Economic Blueprint and additional funding for Los Angeles communities impacted by wildfires today.
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1 / 33California Governor Gavin Newsom's political career in picturesGavin Newsom began serving as the Democratic governor of California in January 2019. Newsom has held many political roles in California, including Lt. Governor and mayor of San Francisco. Take a look at his political career in pictures.
Repeatedly urging the audience to "wake up," Newsom said the rule of law in America "is being replaced by the rule of Don," and warned that Trump and his administration will send federal agents to polling places and voting booths across the country in upcoming elections.
Newsom also said he thinks Trump wants to stay in office, and questioned whether there would be future democratic elections at all.
"I don't think Donald Trump wants another election," he told a POLITICO moderator. "I have two dozen Trump 2028 hats his folks keep sending me."
"Who spends two hundred million dollars on a ballroom at their home and then leaves the house?" Newsom said, in reference to the 90,000 square foot ballroom Trump says he is building at the White House for entertaining.
More: 'Don't poke the bear': Newsom uses Trump's punchy style to make 2028 case
Asked if he envisioned a Newsom versus Trump face-off in 2028, the California governor demurred about his own intentions.
But, Newsom said of Trump, "You think he's joking about 2028? You think when he brings foreign leaders to the Oval Office and he goes to the White House store … and he shows them the 2028 hats that he's not being serious?"
"Wake up," he told the audience. If it doesn't stop Trump's assault on Democracy, he said, "You will lose your country."
More: Gavin Newsom tops Kamala Harris in 2028 presidential poll of California Democrats
Newsom has recently garnered headlines and a larger social media following for attacking Trump more aggressively via his governor's social media account on X, frequently mocking the president's "all caps" and exclamation points style of tweeting.
The 22nd Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1951, expressly limits a president to two terms in office. The rule was established following Franklin D. Roosevelt's four-term presidency, according to scholars at U.S. Constitution.net.
Before that, they said, the two-term tradition was an unwritten rule, set by George Washington when he stepped down after his second term.
Earlier this month, Trump said this month he would "probably not" run for an unconstitutional third term. But he has openly toyed with the idea, telling foreign leaders visiting him in the White House that his supporters want him to do it and showing them "Trump 2028" hats.
During his POLITICO interview, Newsom described a moment during his 90-minute Oval Office meeting with Trump in February when Trump pointed to a painting of Roosevelt. Newsom interpreted that as a nod to Trump's desire to serve a third term, POLITICO reported.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Gavin Newsom says Donald Trump wants an illegal third term in office
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