California Gov. Gavin Newsom is leading a Democratic victory lap after President Donald Trump reluctantly pulled out of stationing National Guard troops in blue cities.
Trump, 79, announced Wednesday that he will no longer deploy troops to Chicago, Los Angeles, and Portland, Oregon, claiming his decision is driven by the fact that crime in those cities has supposedly been “greatly reduced.”
Newsom, 58, quickly reminded that the real reason for Trump’s abrupt policy change is that he was defeated in court by Democrats who argued it was an unconstitutional use of the military.
“We won in court and forced him to [pull back],” Newsom’s office posted to X. “Trump’s rambling here is the political version of ‘you can’t fire me, I quit.’”
The governor was referring to Trump’s Truth Social announcement about troop withdrawals, in which it was clear that Trump did not really want to withdraw from the blue cities he claimed to be saving.
“We are removing the National Guard from Chicago, Los Angeles, and Portland, despite the fact that CRIME has been greatly reduced by having these great Patriots in those cities, and ONLY by that fact,” Trump wrote on New Year’s Eve. “Portland, Los Angeles, and Chicago were GONE if it weren’t for the Federal Government stepping in. We will come back, perhaps in a much different and stronger form, when crime begins to soar again—Only a question of time!”
The Supreme Court ruled last week that Trump’s deployment of troops against U.S. citizens lacked the needed justification. Even conservative justice Brett Kavanaugh, one of three Trump appointees on the court, broke with the president to strike down the plan.
The high court ruled on the constitutionality of using troops in Chicago, but it has been interpreted as applying to cities across the country. Bolstering the case against Trump, an appeals court in California ruled Wednesday that the president must return control of the California National Guard to Newsom, as the governor has long demanded.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Illinois Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker, a new top nemesis of the president, accused Trump of lying in his holiday post announcing the removal of troops.
“Donald Trump’s lying again,” Pritzker posted, quote-tweeting Trump’s post. “He lost in court when Illinois stood up against his attempt to militarize American cities with the National Guard. Now, Trump is forced to stand down.”
Pritzker continued, “No matter how many lies he tells, we will keep standing up for truth and against his abuse of power.”
Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff, another rising foe of the president, also celebrated the president’s retreat.
“This is a long overdue win for the rule of law as the Trump administration is forced to end its illegal deployment of our service members,” Schiff said. “My thoughts are with the members of the National Guard who are finally headed home to their families.”
