In a dramatic intervention, former US President Donald Trump has demanded the State of California reimburse the federal treasury for the multi-million dollar deployment of the National Guard to tackle spiralling crime and open-air drug use in its cities.
The controversial statement, issued from his Washington DC-based Save America PAC, takes direct aim at Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom and what Trump labels the "catastrophic policies" of West Coast liberal leadership.
A Mission to Clean Up the Streets
The deployment, which saw National Guard troops assist in targeted operations in San Francisco, Oakland, and the Central Valley, was initially requested by state authorities to combat a surge in organised retail theft and the widespread fentanyl crisis.
However, Trump frames the federal support as a necessary intervention to clean up a mess he believes was created by state and local officials. "California must immediately repay the Federal Government the many millions of dollars used to deploy the National Guard to clean up their disastrous mess," his statement declared.
Political Tensions Escalate
This demand intensifies the long-running political feud between Trump and Governor Newsom, a prominent Democratic figure often touted as a future presidential candidate. Trump's message accused California's leadership of destroying cities like San Francisco through "their ridiculous and destructive policies."
The move is widely seen as an effort to amplify his law-and-order message and criticise Democratic governance ahead of the next election cycle. The former president's focus on San Francisco's challenges, including high-profile retail closures and public drug use, taps into a potent narrative about urban decay.
As of now, there has been no official response from Governor Newsom's office or the California state government regarding the repayment demand. The directive, while powerful in rhetoric, likely holds little legal weight, but it successfully fuels the national debate on crime, federalism, and political accountability.
