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California Gov. Gavin Newsom unleashed a blistering rebuke of Donald Trump on Thursday as he slammed the president’s deployment of the California National Guard as "an abomination," and called his planned military parade on Saturday a “vulgar display of weakness.”

The fiery comments from the Democratic governor, viewed as a possible 2028 White House contender, came moments after a federal judge on Thursday night temporarily blocked Trump from deploying the National Guard to Los Angeles, a move the judge ripped as “illegal.”

Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) scoffed Thursday night at President Donald Trump's derogatory nickname for him after the state scored an early court win in its battle to prevent the Trump administration from deploying the National Guard to quell protests in Los Angeles.

Newsom talked to reporters after U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer issued a temporary restraining order blocking the Trump administration from federalizing the state's National Guard troops. The judge concluded the plaintiffs "demonstrated that the balance of equities tips in their favor and that an injunction restraining the President's use of military force in Los Angeles is in the public interest."

California National Guard troops and Marines sent to Los Angeles amid ongoing protests say their deployment feels more like political theater than a meaningful national service assignment, according to a new Guardian report.

“Morale is not great, is the quote I keep hearing,” said Chris Purdy of the Chamberlain Network, who’s spoken with multiple National Guard members since their sudden deployment.

The Wall Street Journal editorial board trashed Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for appointing a slew of anti-vaccine conspiracy theorists to one of the nation's most important vaccine advisory boards in a blistering takedown published on Thursday evening.

"We didn’t think anyone could do more to damage trust in public health institutions than Anthony Fauci, but Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is giving it a whirl," wrote the board. "See the eccentric crew the Health and Human Services Secretary has tapped to advise the department on vaccines."

A federal judge on Thursday night temporarily blocked President Donald Trump from deploying the National Guard to Los Angeles after expressing skepticism over the administration's arguments.

U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer issued a temporary restraining order following a hearing in San Francisco court, writing in his ruling that the court concluded the plaintiffs "demonstrated that the balance of equities tips in their favor and that an injunction restraining the President's use of military force in Los Angeles is in the public interest."

Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) walked CNN's Erin Burnett through what happened to him on Thursday, when federal agents tackled and handcuffed him for trying to ask a question of Trump administration Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem over the military deployment to Los Angeles against protesters.

"So here's what happened," said Padilla. "I'm in the conference room a couple doors down, awaiting this briefing with representatives of Northern Command. We learn almost on the spot that there's this press conference going on down the hall. Now, my briefing is delayed because of the folks in that press conference. From the moment I entered the building, I'm being escorted by a member of the National Guard and an FBI agent. I asked, 'Well, since we're waiting, can we go listen in to the press conference?' They escort me over to the press conference. They opened the door for me."

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) made an eyebrow-raising admission on Thursday: President Donald Trump is right about one "very important" thing: the debt limit.

Warren wrote in an op-ed in The New York Times on Thursday, "It is possible that hell has frozen over," as she admitted she and Trump agreed the nation ought to abolish the debt limit.

Elmo had quite the day on Capitol Hill Thursday as House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) brought a stuffed version of the beloved “Sesame Street” puppet onto the House floor to slam Republicans’ proposed cuts to children’s programming.

"Today, we are on the floor of the House of Representatives debating legislation that targets Elmo. And Big Bird. And Daniel Tiger and ‘Sesame Street,'" Jeffries said, waving the red puppet during remarks on the GOP-led budget rescissions package, according to a Fox News report.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is being sharply criticized for his message to the Russian people, congratulating them on “Russia Day.” While it is common for the Department of State to issue such proclamations to various nations, they are typically issued with a purpose—to inform, and to advance American interests, including democracy. Secretary Rubio appears to have chosen a different approach than his predecessors, ignoring the war crimes Russia stands accused of committing.

“On behalf of the American people, I want to congratulate the Russian people on Russia Day,” Rubio’s short statement begins.

This story was originally reported by Errin Haines of The 19th. Meet Errin and read more of her reporting on gender, politics and policy.

This column first appeared in The Amendment, a biweekly newsletter by Errin Haines, The 19th’s editor-at-large. Subscribe today to get early access to her analysis.

On two separate coasts this week, Donald Trump is wielding the military as a signal of his dominance and a hypermasculine display of leadership that is at odds with how many Americans think of the role of a commander-in-chief in a civilian-led democracy.

In Los Angeles, Trump has deployed thousands of members of the National Guard in an outsized response to protesters who took to the streets to oppose his immigration crackdown in the city. This was over the objections and without the cooperation of California’s governor, in the absence of a national emergency. There were incidents of violence, but the protests were overwhelmingly peaceful and in response to the administration’s own actions in sweeping up immigrants who were working, not specifically targeting violent criminals.

In Washington, dozens of tanks, thousands of soldiers, a parachute team and more than 50 types of aircraft will descend Saturday in a military parade to celebrate the Army’s 250th anniversary — a celebration that, coincidentally, falls on Trump’s 79th birthday.

Both scenes are the latest in Trump’s reality show presidency, where strength and power are defined by a public and excessive show of force and pageantry is a means of reinforcing control.

For Trump, the military is the ultimate masculine accessory, said presidential historian Alexis Coe.

“Historically, war-making was seen as the most ‘masculine’ presidential duty,” Coe said.

What if the country isn’t at war, and the threat doesn’t rise to the level of crisis? For this president, patriotism still needs to be performed — and the perception, not reality, is the point.

But many Americans are also exercising their power in this moment. It’s a reminder that military might isn’t the only definition of strength, particularly in a democracy.

U.S. Supreme Court may be death row inmate’s last chance to avoid execution

by Mina Corpuz, Mississippi Today
June 12, 2025

This Saturday, June 14 — on President Donald Trump's 79th birthday — his widely publicized military parade will be held in Washington, DC. And opposition to the event will be expressed with the "No Kings Nationwide Day of Defiance" protests taking place in cities all over the United States.

No Kings organizers are arguing that the event isn't really honoring the U.S. military, but rather, is pure self-aggrandizement on Trump's part.

A top Trump ally lashed out at a CNN reporter on Thursday evening over her reporting on President Donald Trump's appearance at the popular "Les Misérables" musical.

Richard "Ric" Grenell, White House special envoy for special missions who Trump tapped for president of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, took to X on Thursday evening to air a public grievance about Kit Maher's article. Grenell took specific issue with the following paragraph in the report: