Newsom Dismisses Efforts To Remove Trump From California Ballot: ‘A Political Distraction’

California Governor Gavin Newsom has announced his opposition to state efforts aimed at disqualifying former President Donald Trump from the state’s election ballot.

““There is no doubt that Donald Trump is a threat to our liberties and even to our democracy,” Newsom said in a statement to Politico on Friday. “But, in California, we defeat candidates at the polls.”

“Everything else is a political distraction,” he added.

Newsom pans efforts to block Trump from California ballot https://t.co/wnC8Q6CuKq

— POLITICO (@politico) December 23, 2023

A day after the Colorado Supreme Court announced its highly controversial decision to remove Trump from the state’s primary ballot, California Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis called on the state’s Secretary of State, Shirley Weber, to explore legal avenues for removing former President Donald Trump from the state’s 2024 presidential primary ballot.

“I am prompted by the Colorado Supreme Court’s recent ruling that former President Donald Trump is ineligible to appear on the state’s ballot as a Presidential Candidate due to his role in inciting an insurrection in the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021,” Kounalakis wrote in a letter.

Kounalakis has already announced her intention to run for governor in 2026, when Newsom will be termed out.

Despite governing as one of the most far-left administrations in the nation, Newsom has repeatedly strayed away from party talking points on the political strength of former President Donald Trump. While attending the second Republican presidential debate earlier this year, Newsom referred to Trump’s contenders as the “JV” team, adding that the debate was comparable with the XFL.

“I mean, honestly, this is maybe – maybe – a vice-presidential debate. These guys are getting lapped by Donald Trump,” Newsom told reporters. “It’s not even close, it’s not even interesting. And I think what’s most interesting to me is, do they recognize that?… Either these guys come after the frontrunner and distinguish themselves or otherwise they’re wasting everybody’s time.”