Republican Study Committee Slams Gov. Newsom’s Response to Trump CA Visit

President Trump’s visit to California this week, and Governor Gavin Newsom’s childish response, elicited reactions from the Republican Study Committee’s California Members.

Governor Newsom’s response on X likely was penned by his PR flaks, but attributed to the governor:

Donald Trump is coming to California for the first time in 18 months — not to deliver the federal disaster aid Los Angeles wildfire survivors have been waiting for, but to raise money for himself and attack California with the same tired falsehoods. Want to talk about crime? Since Governor Gavin Newsom took office, crime has fallen across EVERY major category: homicides are down 20% (the lowest rate since 1966), robberies are down 31%, property crime is down 24%, motor vehicle theft is down 19%, and violent crime is down 3%. https://gov.ca.gov/2026/07/01/crime-reaches-historic-lows-californias-public-safety-investments-deliver-results/ Want to talk about fraud? California has been rooting out fraud and holding bad actors accountable for years — not pardoning them. See for yourself: http://StopFraud.CA.Gov. Want to talk about taxes? Working families pay less HERE than states like Texas and Florida. And Californians are paying more at the pump because of Trump’s war with Iran, which drove up the cost of gas and groceries for working families across the country. https://itep.org/low-tax-for-whom-california-vs-texas/ More than anything, we’d like the President to keep the promise he made on January 24, 2025: to “take care of Los Angeles.” 18 months later, survivors are still waiting. And while you’re here, Mr. President, welcome to the world’s fourth-largest economy — growing faster than Texas and Florida combined. Enjoy your stay.

Donald Trump is coming to California for the first time in 18 months — not to deliver the federal disaster aid Los Angeles wildfire survivors have been waiting for, but to raise money for himself and attack California with the same tired falsehoods.

Want to talk about crime?… https://t.co/T9Cdzz2gvG pic.twitter.com/4plKYOryTI

— Governor Newsom Press Office (@GovPressOffice) August 4, 2026

Gov. Newsom loves using his finger pointing photo in his X post as if he was giving President Trump grief. But this was the photo used by the LA Times when reporting of Trump’s 2025 visit to Los Angeles after the Palisades fires:

The Globe has covered all of these issues since Newsom was elected in 2018 and took office in 2019.

• California’s crime rates, which rose during Newsom’s first year in office (2019-2023 stats) because of Democrats anti-law enforcement sentiments. Crime rates have fallen dramatically since President Trump took office.

FACT: “Preliminary data suggests property and violent crimes in California were down in 2024,” Gov. Newsom’s claimed in 2025.  “But the preliminary data relies on only 29 law enforcement agencies. California has well over 500 agencies. It is very incomplete. I’m all for hope, but not for revisionist history on crime,” Yolo County District Attorney Jeff Reisig told the Globe.

• California’s anti-fraud efforts, with CA AG Bonta only cracking down on fraud after the Trump administration’s War on Fraud. California has been ranked as one of the top states with the most identity theft and fraud.

FACT: When the White House announced plans in February for a new anti-fraud task force targeting welfare abuse in California and other states, and assigned Vice President J.D. Vance, California Attorney General Rob Bonta fell all over himself claiming that the California Department of Justice was working to tackle fraud in the state. He even “pushed back” against the Trump Administration’s characterization that California programs are overrun by fraud and that state government is somehow facilitating this fraud.

Then the Small Business Administration upstaged AG Bonta and announced it has uncovered $8.6 billion in suspected fraud tied to COVID-era relief lending in California and has suspended more than 111,000 borrowers in the state.

• California’s affordability and tax policies, despite California’s refusal to implement provisions of the Working Families Tax Cuts Act like no tax on tips or overtime, which ultimately prevents hardworking Californians from keeping more of what they earned. California has also been ranked as one of the states with the worst taxation. 

FACT: At the same time California is proposing to tax billionaires an additional 5% asset tax, Governor Gavin Newsom announced he would be denying hourly workers Trump’s tax breaks on tips and overtime.

Republican Study Committee Members are pushing back on several of Newsom’s claims

“Gavin Newsom has spent years declaring war on California energy, driving up costs, putting illegal immigrants and criminals first, and pushing families and businesses out of state,” said Rep. Vince Fong (CA-20). “President Trump has done the opposite, delivering the largest tax cut in history, unleashing American energy, securing our border, and putting America First. California deserves leadership that actually works for its people. Glad to have you here, Mr. President.”

“How do you know Gavin Newsom is lying? His press office is tweeting. No one knows Gavin Newsom’s failures better than the people who actually live in California,” said Rep. James Gallagher (CA-01). “Crime got so bad that Californians passed a ballot initiative to crack down on it, despite opposition from Newsom and his political allies. Fraud became so rampant that federal officials are now withholding funding to prevent even more abuse. California lost more than $30 billion to unemployment fraud. Millions more were stolen from programs meant to serve the homeless and provide hospice care. Medi-Cal has been plagued by fraud and mismanagement while hospitals struggle to stay open and the most vulnerable Californians are left behind. Californians pay the highest taxes in the nation. They also pay the highest gas taxes while driving on crumbling roads. They face some of the highest electricity rates in America while being told to conserve power because the grid can’t keep up. Gavin Newsom’s record is so bad it almost sounds unbelievable. Unless you live in California. Then it’s just everyday life.”