May 17, 2024

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) took a swing at former President Trump Friday, claiming he is “more unhinged” than ever, as a rematch between Trump and former President Biden becomes even more likely in November.

“He can’t be beaten in a primary, but in a general election a general election, I think he’s the most flawed candidate in my lifetime,” Newsom said in an interview with MSNBC’s Alex Wagner. “He is damaged goods.”

“He is not as entertaining as he once was. He’s more unhinged than he ever was, more extreme, obviously more dangerous across the spectrum of issues,” he added.

The Golden State governor also attacked congressional Republicans earlier this week for yielding to Trump’s agenda when it comes to the southern border.

“I think it is a disgrace, what the Republican Party is doing, what Donald Trump is doing,” Newsom said Thursday, in a separate interview with Wagner. “And this is hidden in plain sight. He sent out a tweet or some Truth whatever saying, ‘Kill it.’ And these guys are so weak. How … so pathetically weak, this Republican Party.”

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) told fellow GOP senators Wednesday that being able to pass border security reforms along with Ukraine aid is becoming harder than originally expected. He also noted that the former president’s antagonism toward any border security deal could be impossible to push past.

McConnell was also the one who floated splitting funding for Ukraine from border security reforms. 

“Mitch McConnell, I thought that was shameful, what was reported out,” Newsom said. “That he’s just completely rolling over and capitulating.”

“Don’t even get me started with the weakness of the current Speaker of the House,” Newsom added, referring to Mike Johnson (R-La.). “I mean, they don’t want a deal, period. Full stop.”

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-La.) said if reports about the terms of the deal are accurate, legislation on border security and Ukraine aid would have been “dead on arrival” in the House, in a letter to colleagues Friday.

“I wanted to provide a brief update regarding the supplemental and the border, since the Senate appears unable to reach any agreement,” he wrote. “If rumors about the contents of the draft proposal are true, it would have been dead on arrival in the House anyway.”

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