• California Governor Gavin Newsom, once a crusader against election denial, now accuses President Trump of plotting to “steal” the 2026 midterms—mirroring the very rhetoric he once decried as anti-democratic.

AUSTIN, TX (TDR) — In a stunning rhetorical pivot, California Governor Gavin Newsom on Friday accused President Donald Trump of attempting to “steal” the upcoming 2026 midterm elections, invoking claims eerily similar to the ones he once condemned during the fallout of the 2020 contest.

“Donald Trump is trying to steal the 2026 election. We cannot sit back and watch this happen,” Newsom posted on X, accompanying a video of his press conference in Texas, where he stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Texas Democrats to blast GOP-led redistricting efforts.

At the event, Newsom portrayed redistricting as a dire national crisis, declaring:

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“If we don’t put a stake into the heart of this administration, there may not be an election in 2028.”

Newsom’s emotional charge lacked cited evidence, but his intent was clear—paint Trump and Republicans as existential threats to American democracy.

“We take Donald Trump seriously when he talks about the 2028 election. … They’re not screwing around. We cannot afford to screw around either,” he continued.
“We have got to fight fire with fire.”

A Stark Reversal

The governor’s remarks are a striking contrast to his long-standing denunciations of so-called “election denialism.” On January 6, 2021, Newsom issued a formal statement urging then-President Trump to “acknowledge the will of the people” following Joe Biden’s win.

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He labeled the Capitol protest that day “an unprecedented attack” on democracy and later escalated his language during a 2023 speech, declaring:

“We saw that two years ago, on this day, when the unthinkable happened… an insurrectionist mob ransacking a sacred pillar of our democracy.”

Notably, no January 6 defendant has been charged with insurrection, yet Newsom continued to wield the term in political speeches.

Now, with the 2026 elections looming and red-state legislatures redrawing maps, Newsom appears to be borrowing from the very script he once condemned, casting doubt on future election outcomes before a single vote has been cast.

Is this principled vigilance—or hypocrisy in pursuit of political survival?

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