Newsom Blasted For Calling Fight for Wrongly Deported Man ‘Distraction’
Democrats criticize California governor for not standing up for the rule of law
The governor of California is coming under widespread criticism — including from fellow Democrats — for calling the fight for the rights of the Maryland man wrongly deported and imprisoned by the Trump administration a “distraction.“
Gov Gavin Newsom made the comment at a recent press conference, in which he called the current fight for the rights of Kilmar Abrego Garcia a “distraction” from battling Donald Trump over tariffs and the economy.
But that has opened Newsom, widely expected to run for president in 2028, to a political firestorm.
A citizen of El Salvador, Abrego Garcia was in the United States legally when he was snatched by federal agents near his home in the Washington DC suburbs and sent without a hearing to an indefinite detention at CECOT, El Salvador’s notorious prison which has been called a “black hole of human rights.”
The Trump administration is ignoring an order from the US Supreme Court to return Abrego Garcia to the United States. Democratic Sen Chris Van Hollen, of Maryland, traveled this week to El Salvador to intervene on behalf of Abrego Garcia, and was finally allowed to meet with the wrongly imprisoned man.
And Van Hollen was one of those who condemned Newsom’s stance, saying that this wasn’t a fight for one man but rather due process and the rule of law.
"I don‘t think it‘s ever wrong to fight for the constitutional rights of one person, because if we give up on one person‘s rights, we threaten everybody‘s rights,” the senator said in an interview with CNN. “And I think a lot of voters — both Republican and Democrat — are tired of elected politicians, of elected officials and politicians who just put their finger to the wind.
“And I would say that anyone who‘s not prepared to stand up and fight for the Constitution doesn‘t deserve to lead,” he added.
Newsom also drew a rebuke from former White House staffers for former president Barack Obama, who now host the popular podcast, Pod Save America.
Former Obama speechwriter Jon Favreau responded to Newsom’s remarks on Friday’s episode, stating, “My head’s gonna fucking pop off my body.”
Co-host Dan Pfeiffer, who served as a senior advisor to Obama, agreed.
Pfeiffer conceded that while “tariffs, inflation, economic chaos, market drops, tax cuts for billionaires, cuts to Medicaid” are “the most persuasive message in all the polling,” Democrats nevertheless “look cowardly, calculating and fucking ridiculous” by backing down on Abrego Garcia’s case.
It’s not just Democrats blasting Newsom.
Former Republican congressman Joe Walsh, a fierce Trump opponent and “Never Trumper,” also weighed in.
“Like, I think it was Gavin Newsom earlier this week said, ‘Ah, it’s a distraction. We should be talking about tariffs and the economy.’ Bull crap! If you can’t fight with everything you’ve got about due process and defending the Constitution, then go home,” he said in an appearance on MSNBC.
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