In recent weeks, a Democratic mayor, a Democratic U.S. House member, the staffer of a different Democratic U.S. House member, a sitting judge and a labor leader have all been criminally charged, detained or taken into custody by Trump administration officials.

Will a Democratic governor join the list? The president apparently has an opinion on the matter.
https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:aunpu65mdrhwfie7ynymlzeh/post/3lr6udqatqk2u

Link to tweet

Asked about whether Tom Homan, the administration’s “border czar,” should arrest California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Donald Trump told reporters: “I would do it, if I were Tom. I think it’s great.”

Just so we’re all clear, there’s no evidence that California’s Democratic governor has broken any laws. No one in the administration has even accused Newsom of doing anything that would warrant criminal charges.......

It’s worth emphasizing for context that it’s unlikely we’ll see Newsom in handcuffs anytime soon. For one thing, there’s no reason to believe he has committed any crimes. For another, Homan doesn’t actually have any legal authority to arrest anyone, even if he wanted to, since a “border czar” is basically just an advisory position.

Indeed, hours before the president’s provocative comments, Homan appeared on Fox News and said there’s been “no discussion” about arresting the governor. He soon after added on MSNBC that he never actually even threatened to arrest Newsom (despite some evidence to the contrary).

None of that, however, makes Trump’s rhetoric any less outrageous. Sitting presidents are not supposed to go around talking publicly about the arrest of officials who’ve done nothing wrong. Indeed, Trump’s endorsement of Newsom’s arrest comes just days after the president directed the Justice Department to investigate Joe Biden — an unprecedented step that Trump admitted was based on no evidence — which marked the third time in as many months that the Republican has sought formal investigations into perceived political foes.

The California governor’s comments about “unmistakable” steps toward authoritarianism resonated for a reason.