California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) took to social media Thursday to bash a federal immigration raid on a large cannabis farm in Southern California, where agents clashed with protesters and sprayed tear gas.
“Trump calls me ‘Newscum’ — but he’s the real scum,” Newsom wrote on X in response to a video from KTLA of protesters and apparent targets of the raid running from tear gas sprayed by officers in Camarillo, Calif.
Trump administration officials hit back at the governor’s comment.
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“Why are there children working at a marijuana facility, Gavin?” the account for the Department of Homeland Security replied.
Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott said 10 minors in the country illegally were found at the facility, which he said is “now under investigation for child labor violations.”
“This is Newsom’s California,” Scott wrote.
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The cannabis company said on social media that it complied with federal search warrants but denied employing minors, adding it “has never knowingly violated applicable hiring practices.”
Hundreds of people turned out to protest in Camarillo and clashed with law enforcement, which appeared to be accompanied by members of the National Guard.
The raid and protests are the latest immigration-related standoff in California, which has become a national flash point in the Trump administration’s campaign for mass deportations.
Federal troops and immigration officers marched through Los Angeles’s MacArthur Park earlier this week in a major show of force. Mayor Karen Bass (D) denounced the move as “outrageous.”
Newsom has leaned into his criticism of the Trump administration’s actions in recent weeks after starting a new podcast inviting on conservative media personalities.
An analysis of his X posts by Politico found that his anti-Trump missives have drawn triple the audience engagement he normally receives on the platform.
Newsom is widely thought to be eyeing a run for president in 2028 and spent time earlier this week in South Carolina, a crucial primary state for Democrats. There, he bashed Trump but did not appear to dwell extensively on immigration.
On social media, he has recently taken to pushing back against criticism of California from Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), and even engaged with right-wing account “Libs of TikTok,” which posted a KTLA video that appeared to show a protester in Camarillo firing a gun at federal agents.
“Of course I condemn any assault on law enforcement, you s‑‑‑ poster,” Newsom wrote. “Now do Jan 6.”
Updated at 11:53 a.m. EDT