When California Gov. Gavin Newsom came to Washington, D.C. this week to lobby for federal wildfire recovery funding for his state, he may have come with another goal in mind: bridge building.
It was not about an infrastructure project, but the bond between himself and President Donald Trump, who have often traded vicious barbs in the press over the last several years. In fact, when asked by Spectrum News whether the president committed to honor former President Joe Biden’s commitment that the federal government foot the bill for the first 180 days of recovery from the catastrophic fires during their conversation, Newsom said “we didn’t get in[to] any granular conversations.”
“Was more top line — it was sort of consistent with the brief tarmac visit. Try to turn a page here, a little bit on some of the rhetoric and noise, sort of getting out of the campaign mode into a governing mode,” said Newsom, pointing to the cordial and sometimes warm relationship he had with Trump during his first term in office during the COVID pandemic.
“There was a lot going back and forth, lawsuits related to, you know, certain actions that the administration took in California, pushing back, but — same time we’re able to pick up the phone and address issues,” he said. “I said this so many times, publicly and privately, everything we needed during COVID, Trump delivered for California. It was a really interesting dynamic, because it ran contrary to a lot of other states that had a different relationship. So I want to find that space again as it relates to this disaster and recovery. And I hope yesterday helped in that cause.”
Asked if Trump referred to him as "Newscum" during their over 90-minute meeting Wednesday, the governor chuckled.
“We had some fun. I think I’ve been doing this long enough, I forgot that I should take things personally… but I don’t anymore,” Newsom said.
“None of this is helpful or constructive. But, you know…he reminded me of things we said on the campaign trail. I mean, this is — look — it was a tough campaign, and I was not shy about my support for the former president and the ticket, and ultimately Kamala [Harris] and the ticket. So it is what it is, but that’s why that was an important meeting.”
The meeting between Newsom and Trump came just one day after the California legislature approved $25 million to fight the administration in court, and another $25 million to defend immigrants from potential deportation. California Republican Party Chairwoman Jessica Millan Patterson said in a statement Wednesday that “the hypocrisy is astounding.”
“Gov. Newsom continues his desperate attempt to ‘Trump-proof’ California while simultaneously running to President Trump for help,” Millan Patterson wrote. “Instead of playing political games and positioning himself for 2028, Newsom should focus on fixing the real problems Californians face — rampant homelessness, failing schools and an affordability crisis that are forcing families and businesses to flee.”
“Fortunately, President Trump is committed to a brighter California future, stating, ‘there can be no Golden Age without the Golden State.’ If Newsom truly cares about California, he should stop the partisan posturing, work with President Trump and deliver real solutions for the people he was elected to serve,” she added.
Newsom said that despite political differences, he never felt politics in the room during his meetings on the hill or in the Oval Office.
“They’ve been incredibly productive and constructive meetings, and if there’s politics, it wasn’t present — wasn’t present in the room… including yesterday with the president. I mean, it was on every issue, just had different points of view on so many things, and yet, [it] was nice just to be able to have that opportunity to dialog in a nonconfrontational way.”
Newsom met with California Sen. Alex Padilla, as well as Democratic Reps. Judy Chu, George Whiteside and Brad Sherman and Republican Reps. Doug LaMalfa and Ken Calvert. The governor also spent time meeting with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Sen. Rafael Warnock, D-Ga.
He told Spectrum News he did not meet with Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., or Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., during his visit to Capitol Hill. Newsom said he plans to return to Washington as “often as it’s required — if it is — to do right by the people I represent in California, period full stop.”
“The next few weeks will be very determinative in terms of first phase support,” said Newsom, who said the state will reveal its initial estimate on Monday, Feb. 10 as to what the state needs in terms of federal disaster relief and the cost of recovery, but cautioned this is only the first phase estimate, and the number will likely be higher than what is originally presented.
