A spokesperson for Vice President JD Vance defended the Trump administration’s plan to fire artillery shells over a major California freeway on Saturday, the same day as the nationwide No Kings protests, and refuted concerns expressed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom as unfounded.
Newsom’s office first received reports earlier this week that Marines at Camp Pendleton near San Diego were planning to fire artillery shells Saturday in a training exercise, and as part of a celebration of the Marine Corps’ 250th birthday, as reported by The Los Angeles Times on Wednesday. At the time, Newsom said the unconfirmed reports, if true, were not “the right way to go about” honoring the Marines’ anniversary.
The New York Times confirmed the reports to be accurate on Saturday, and in a statement to the outlet, Newsom condemned the plan as a “profoundly absurd show of force that could put Californians directly in harm’s way.”
“Using our military to intimidate people you disagree with isn’t strength – it’s reckless, it’s disrespectful, and it’s beneath the office the president holds,” Newsom told the Times.
William Martin, Vance’s communications director, however, fired back at Newsom over his concerns, and invited the California governor to try and oppose the military exercise.
“Gavin Newsom wants people to think this exercise is dangerous; the Marine Corps says it’s an established and safe practice,” Martin said in a statement as reported by the Times Saturday.
“Newsom wants people to think this is an absurd show of force. The Marine Corps says it’s part of routine training at Camp Pendleton. If Gavin Newsom wants to oppose the training exercises that ensure our Armed Forces are the deadliest and most lethal fighting force in the world, then he can go right ahead.”
The announcement has already led to a temporary suspension of airspace around Camp Pendleton, the Times reported, along with the passenger rail Amtrak cancelling rail services in the area on Saturday from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. Vance is expected to attend the event.