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SUGGESTED COVERAGE: President-elect Trump prepares for 2nd term
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LOS ANGELES - Disclaimer: Election results can change since they are not officially certified yet.
President-elect Donald Trump on Friday clapped back at California Gov. Gavin Newsom's call for lawmakers to convene a special session later this year to safeguard the state’s progressive policies on climate change, reproductive rights and immigration ahead of another Trump presidency.
On his Truth Social platform, Trump accused Newsom of "trying to KILL our Nation's beautiful California," and pointed to that as the reason why "more people are leaving than are coming in."
"He is using the term ‘Trump-Proof’ as a way of stopping all of the GREAT things that can be done to ‘Make California Great Again,’ but I just overwhelmingly won the Election," Trump wrote.
The move — a day after the former president resoundingly defeated Vice President Kamala Harris in the presidential race — effectively reignited California’s resistance campaign against conservative policies that state Democratic leaders started during the first Trump administration.
Trump also criticized California's "insane" policies on water, homelessness, and gas prices.
"They are making it impossible to build a reasonably priced car, the unchecked and unbalanced homeless catastrophe, & the cost of EVERYTHING, in particular "groceries," IS OUT OF CONTROL," he added.
Trump ended by saying he would be demanding voter identification at the polls and proof of citizenship during the voting process.
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"As an "AGENT" for the United States of America on Voting & Elections, I will be DEMANDING THAT VOTER I.D., AND PROOF OF CITIZENSHIP, ARE A NECESSARY PART AND COMPONENT OF THE VOTING PROCESS!"
Newsom's announcement Thursday called on the Legislature to give the attorney general’s office more funding to fight federal challenges when they meet in December.
California’s move is part of a growing discussion among Democratic state officials across the country seeking to protect policies that face threats under Trump’s leadership. Other blue states are also moving quickly to prepare game plans and expect a fiercer battle this time around with a Republican-dominated Senate and possibly House.
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After Trump’s win, Newsom vowed to work with the president-elect but added, "Let there be no mistake, we intend to stand with states across our nation to defend our Constitution and uphold the rule of law."
California was home to the so-called Trump resistance during his time in office, and Trump often depicts California as representing all he sees wrong in America.
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Trump called the Democratic governor "New-scum" during a campaign stop in Southern California last month and has relentlessly lambasted the Democratic stronghold and nation’s most populous state over its large number of immigrants in the U.S. illegally, its homeless population and its thicket of regulations.
Newsom has called California a sanctuary for people in other states seeking abortions. The state has passed dozens of laws to protect abortion access, including setting aside $20 million in taxpayer money to help pay for patients in other states to travel to California to get an abortion. Newsom also leads a coalition of 20 Democratic governors launched in 2023 to strengthen abortion access.
In a video message posted to X on Saturday, Newsom said he will stand "firm."
"If our American values and freedoms are attacked, we will not stand idly by."
The Source: <i>This story was reported with information from Trump's social media account. The Associated Press contributed.</i>