Overview
- President Trump is zeroing in on Governors Gavin Newsom, J.B. Pritzker, and Wes Moore, casting them as examples of Democratic failures on crime, homelessness, and immigration.
- His latest broadside featured an 'Apocalypse Now' meme about Chicago and a reference to renaming the Pentagon as the Department of War, underscoring a flair for spectacle.
- Each governor has opposed Trump’s National Guard deployments or threats, following actions in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., that the White House touts as contrasts with Democratic-led cities.
- Aides and allies say the offensive is designed to influence the 2026 map and set the narrative for 2028, even as Trump signals J.D. Vance or Marco Rubio as leading GOP prospects.
- Newsom’s team has trolled the president online, Pritzker has labeled him a 'wannabe dictator,' and Moore invited Trump to walk Baltimore’s streets, while none of the three has launched a 2028 bid and Moore says he will not run.