California Governor Gavin Newsom & Political Figures Blast Trump's National Guard Plan in Washington D.C.: 'This is What Dictators Do'

California Governor Gavin Newsom and other high-profile political figures criticized President Donald Trump's announcement that he was deploying the National Guard to crack down on crime in Washington, D.C., comparing this action to that of a dictator.

While this is not the first time the California governor and other leaders have blasted Trump and the White House, the reactions to the plans revealed on August 11, 2025, have no precedent.

They came after Trump declared a public safety emergency in Washington, D.C., placing the Metropolitan Police Department under federal control and deploying 800 National Guard troops. He invoked powers under the D.C. Home Rule Act, suggesting a campaign to "liberate" the capital amid warnings of surging crime, despite data showing violent crime at a 30‑year low and continued decline in 2025.

Such aggressive federal intervention has triggered alarm among Democratic leaders. Critics wasted no time condemning the move as authoritarian, with many drawing explicit comparisons to dictatorial power grabs.

Governor Newsom responded to the announcement with a scathing tweet warning that "He will gaslight his way into militarizing any city he wants..." This isn't the first time the California Governor has leveled similar criticism at the President. In response to the federalization of the National Guard in Los Angeles earlier this year, Newsom accused Trump of acting "like a dictator" and initiated legal action, filing a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the deployment.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has also weighed in, calling the Trump administration's actions "authoritarian." Walz has also faced off against the President before as Democratic nominee Kamala Harris' running partner in the 2024 presidential election.

While addressing law school graduates earlier this year, the Minnesota governor called Trump a "tyrant" who "finds new ways to trample rights and undermine the rule of law." At the South Carolina Democratic Party Convention in May, Walz also called Trump a "wannabe dictator" and "a weak, cruel man."

Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland responded to the news in a series of tweets criticizing the Trump administration. Van Hollen called the move a "raw authoritarian power grab" and accused Trump of "playing dictator." He also asserted that Trump's plan in Washington was "flatly about testing the limits of his power."

Democratic New York Congressman Adriano Espaillat has also directly challenged Trump's plans. A former undocumented immigrant from the Dominican Republic, Congressman Espaillat, who represents New York's 13th congressional district, has been a vocal critic of immigration policy in the United States and called the Trump administration's actions "the act of a dictator, not a president."