What Donald Trump doesn’t get about California

Clearly, conservatives and liberals don’t see eye-to-eye, but some conservatives are determined to go off the deep end rather than to deal with reality that doesn’t support their propaganda. Trump conservatives, however, go even farther. They obviously don’t care if they embarrass themselves if they are giving public support to failed president Donald Trump.
Scott Jennings is a conservative commentator on CNN. He, of course, decided to give his two cents worth about what’s happening in L.A. He had some very negative things to say about Governor Gavin Newsom and his desire to get Trump out of the business of California. It is Newsom’s job as chief officer of California to do the things that Trump has forced on them if he had seen the need. Jennings claims that Newsom’s push back is Newsom trying to launch a presidential campaign. What? Gavin Newsom is trying to do the job he was elected to do as Governor of the state. If he needed assistance from Trump or the federal government, he knows how to ask for it. He is not posturing to set himself up for a presidential run. How ludicrous, not that anyone expects more from the MAGA contingent, but he made matters worse—and himself look like a fool—with his final dig, calling California a “failed state.” Way to display your ignorance to the world, Scott. Mediaite published numbers from the International Monetary Fund and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, both of which show California’s GPD is greater than that of Japan, making California the fourth largest economy in the world. So much for California being a “failed state.” In fact, if it weren’t for the taxes paid by California, many red states would go bust.
Fox News shared a screenshot of its Business Report headline in April: “California overtakes Japan to become the world’s 4th largest economy.” Newsom also proclaimed: “Our growth rate last year outpaced the U.S., China, and Germany. Our state population is increasing. We’re #1 for new business starts, access to venture capital funding, manufacturing and agriculture. California isn’t just keeping pace with the world; we’re setting the pace.” Indeed, this seems true given that California’s GDP grew at the rate of 6% in 2024, while the U.S. rate was 5.3%, China was at 2.6%, and Germany stood at 2.9%. It appears that Newsom is sitting at the helm of a very successful state. He obviously needs no help from Donald Trump.
Trump’s invasion of California is nothing more than his pattern of declaring fake emergencies to take more power. Ilya Somin, a libertarian professor at Antonin Scalia Law School, told the New York Times: “He is declaring utterly bogus emergencies for the sake of trying to expand his power, undermine the Constitution and destroy civil liberties.” Trump is perfectly aligned to do just that. He has a Congress that is completely subservient to him, and a Senate that pretends to stand up to him but that acquiesces in the end. Trump is on a course in which he cannot be contained, and that is the most frightening part.

Shirley is a former entertainment writer and has worked in the legal field for over 25 years