California National Guard members are positioned on June 10, 2025, at the Federal Building in downtown Los Angeles. (AP Photo\/Eric Thayer)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Democratic governor has amplified his complaints on X, where he has drawn a comparison between California’s homicide rate and those of Indiana, Florida, West Virginia, Virginia, Texas, Ohio, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Nevada, South Carolina, Alaska, Georgia, Missouri, Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi. All of those states have Republican governors who have largely fallen in line with what Trump does and says.<\/p>\n

“If the president is sincere about the issue of crime and violence, there’s no question in my mind that he’ll likely be sending the troops into Louisiana and Mississippi,” Newsom said Thursday<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It is unclear if Newsom’s calling out crime in other states is making much of a difference, but his reach on social media has grown exponentially<\/a> since he started trolling Trump over the past month.<\/p>\n

Trump has not indicated that he will federalize troops and send them into any Republican-led states, but, earlier this month, he took over the local police force<\/a> in Washington, D.C<\/a>., and deployed National Guard troops to patrol the streets. He took credit for a drop in crime that started before he took action. Trump has also floated expanding deployment to other Democratic strongholds such as Chicago and New York.<\/p>\n

Does Newsom have a point?<\/h2>\n
As those cities prepare to push back, it is worth taking a look at Newsom’s claims that Trump is only interested in using crime as a vehicle to siphon power from states that oppose his policies and that states with Republican governors have some of the country’s highest homicide rates<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Doing an apples-to-apples comparison is difficult because even though California has more homicides than any state in the country, it also has the largest population. Therefore, using a rate, which refers to homicides per 100,000 people, makes it possible to compare states on an even footing. Using that comparison, Newsom’s allegations against all of the red states he called out are more or less accurate, with the governor’s office occasionally making errors<\/a> when it lists the percentage.<\/p>\n
For example, Newsom’s office claimed that “Ohio’s homicide rate is 160% higher than California’s, but you wouldn’t know that by watching FOX NEWS.” His office cited data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.<\/p>\n
NEWSOM DEPLOYS STATE POLICE AFTER TRUMP THREATENS TO SEND IN NATIONAL GUARD<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n
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Ohio’s homicide rate is 160% higher than California’s, but you wouldn’t know that by watching FOX NEWS. pic.twitter.com\/raWdDV1dR9<\/a><\/p>\n
— Governor Newsom Press Office (@GovPressOffice) August 28, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n