President Donald Trump said he would “love” to see California Gov. Gavin Newsom enter the 2028 presidential race but argued that his record, particularly on wildfires and the state’s embattled high-speed rail project, would disqualify him.
During a bilateral meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Tuesday, Trump took aim at Newsom’s leadership, mocking the California governor’s handling of a long-delayed rail line. “A little train going from San Francisco to Los Angeles that’s being run by Gavin New-scum — the governor of California,” Trump said. “Did you ever hear of Gavin Newsom? He has got that train — the worst cost overrun I’ve ever seen. It’s like, totally out of control.”
Despite the harsh tone, Trump claimed he has had a “good relationship” with Newsom and had “always liked” him. He noted that his administration had intervened early in his second term to provide water resources to California, saying, “I just got him a lot of water… because he refused to do it.”
Trump criticized Newsom’s wildfire response, saying the devastation in Los Angeles could have been prevented. “Those fires would have been put out very quickly,” he said. Trump visited Southern California in January after wildfires destroyed thousands of buildings and acres. He later issued an executive order to ease environmental regulations and expedite federal relief efforts.
He also directed the Department of the Interior to override regulations he said were blocking water access to California’s Central Valley. “If they would have done what I said to do, they wouldn’t have had the fires in Los Angeles,” he said.
Trump returned to the rail project, blasting its budget woes. Originally slated to cost $33 billion and be completed by 2020, the high-speed train now carries an estimated $106 billion price tag. “I’ve watched a lot of stupid people build a lot of stupid things,” Trump said, “but this is the worst cost overrun I’ve ever seen.”
Trump said he instructed Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy not to fund the project further. “This government is not going to pay for that thing,” he added, saying it’s “30 times over budget.” Duffy is currently conducting a review into whether California has upheld its obligations tied to federal funding for the project.
Though Newsom is term-limited from seeking re-election as governor in 2026, speculation about a 2028 presidential run has followed him for months. Trump dismissed the possibility. “That one project alone — well, that and the fires and a lot of other things — pretty much put him out of the race,” he said.