Who is looking for fire help for LA, the candidate or Governor Newsom?

from Dan WaltersCalMatters

This comment was originally posted by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a near-certain 2028 presidential contender, took the opportunity to address a forum of business executives and other A-list figures last week and burnish his credentials as President Donald Trump’s most vocal critic.

he angered attendees at an event sponsored by the New York Times for being too soft on Trump, whom he accused of undermining democracy. He even suggested they acquire the parody knee pads he sells to “satisfy Trump’s needs.”

“Some of you may have to buy them in bulk,” he said.

“Some of you are probably fine with that,” Newsom said while noting Trump’s authoritarian policies. “A lot of people got it. They know the game, state capitalism, crony capitalism, grand theft. Many of you are doing extremely well.”

It was exactly what one would expect from someone eyeing the White House and hoping that his positioning as Trump’s chief opponent would give him an edge over the other Democratic candidates.

Politico, a politics website, quoted an unnamed adviser to Newsom as saying his confrontational performance was intentional. “So he came prepared to tell the truth,” said the adviser.

A day later, Newsom landed in Washington, took off his presidential hat, put on his gubernatorial hat, and demanded that Republicans, who control Congress and the White House, give California $34 billion to help communities in Los Angeles County recover from the deadly wildfires that swept through the region nearly a year ago.

“As the fire response has shifted to long-term recovery, the focus is now on restoring homes, schools, utilities and critical infrastructure while supporting small businesses and job growth in the affected region,” Newsom congressional leaders said in a letteradding, “As with past and current disasters, full recovery is not possible without substantial federal assistance. The State of California continues to respectfully request additional disaster funding appropriations to support key survivor assistance programs.”

With respect? Newsom has hinted that he could portray Trump and other Republicans as agents of the devil and immediately demand many billions of dollars from them to help his very blue state recover from the disaster.

The two days on the East Coast encapsulate the divisive image Newsom will portray in his final year as governor — an aggressive White House candidate and chief executive of the nation’s largest state.

There are conflicts as Newsom juggles both roles, with his pleas for wildfire help evident.

He knows that Trump demands servitude from anyone who seeks favors—exactly what Newsom cited in his presentation in New York. The flip side of Trump’s alpha male psyche is that if flattery isn’t expected, the seeker is likely to be shunned.

“Back in January, the president looked me in the eye on the runway at LAX and promised me and the people of Los Angeles that he would ‘take care of this’ as we rebuild and rebuild,” Newsom said in a statement. “That commitment has not been fulfilled, and instead he is leaving survivors behind. It’s time for Trump to wake up and do his job.”

Newsom knew that standing up to Trump would likely derail any chance of California getting disaster relief. The White House even rejected Newsom’s request to meet with Trump or other senior officials.

“The Trump administration has denied a routine wildfire recovery meeting — a denial we’ve never seen before — even as families in Los Angeles go nearly a year without long-term federal financial aid,” Izzy Garden, a Newsom spokeswoman, said in a statement. “The message to survivors is unmistakable: Donald Trump doesn’t care about them.”

Newsom made a choice and candidate Newsom prevailed over Governor Newsom. As 2026 unfolds, we will see many more conflicts between the two personalities. The candidate will likely continue to dominate.

This article was originally published on CalMatters and is republished under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivatives license.