Gavin Newsom says 'Trump is in retreat' after Noem firing - Seacoastonline.com

Gavin Newsom says 'Trump is in retreat' after Noem firing

Margie Cullen and Jane Murphy

USA TODAY NETWORK - New England

Updated March 5, 2026, 9:46 p.m. ET

PORTSMOUTH — California Gov. Gavin Newsom seized on President Donald Trump's firing of Kristi Noem as Homeland Security secretary March 5, minutes after he took the stage at The Music Hall.

"Donald Trump is in retreat," Newsom said. "Today is a perfect example — the first firing of a high-profile cabinet member."

Newsom, 58, a potential 2028 presidential candidate who is on a national book tour, also took aim at another administration official.

"The dark heart of the administration is not Kristi Noem, it's Stephen Miller," Newsom said. He referred to 2025, when the Trump administration sent National Guard members to California in a response to protests over immigration arrests and raids.

"It had Noem's fingerprints all over it, but it was Stephen Miller's handbook, and he needs to be next," Newsom said.

Newsom appeared in Portsmouth a couple days after comparing Israel to an "apartheid state" during a book event in Los Angeles. He told the Portsmouth crowd his comment, which came as the U.S. and Israel attack Iran, was made in reference to a Tom Friedman column.

"Tom used that word apartheid as it relates to the direction (Israel leader Benjamin Netanyahu) is going, particularly on the annexation of the West Bank," Newsom said. "I'm very angry about this war with all due respect, not because I'm angry the supreme leader is dead, quite the contrary. I'm not naive about the last 37 years of his reign, 47 years since the '79 revolution, but I'm also mindful that you have a president who still is inarticulate and incapable of giving us the rationale of, why, why? Now, what's the end game?"

In Portsmouth, Newsom also commented on the large voter turnout for the Texas primary this week.

"Donald Trump is the leader of the get out the vote for the Democratic Party," he said.

Book tour a tried and true tactic for presidential hopefuls

At the Portsmouth event, Newsom discussed his book, “Young Man in a Hurry,” to a sold-out crowd. The memoir takes the reader through his life from his youth as a kid with dyslexia and a neglectful father to his role today as the governor the most populous state in the country.

"This memoir became a memoir of discovery and ultimately a love letter to my mom," he said in Portsmouth, in reference to his book and the secrets he learned while writing it.

Book tours are often used by presidential hopefuls, and Newson's circuit is no exception, political scientists in the state said. The Democratic governor has said he is considering running.

“People who have their eye on the White House will often write books that they can hand out at campaign events that really spell out their vision, and is a very good sort of primer for what they hope to do in the White House,” said Neil Levesque, the director of the New Hampshire Institute of Politics.

Yet his tour, which has taken himall over the country in recent weeks, has not been without controversy. At an event March 3 in Los Angeles, he made waves by saying that some are talking about Israel “appropriately as sort of an apartheid state,” an accusation which Israel has repeatedly denied, and suggesting the U.S. should reconsider its military support for the country.

At another event in Atlanta in February, remarks he made about his low SAT scores and difficulty reading speeches got pushback, largely from conservative outlets, for being racially insensitive. Newsom’s office called the backlash “MAGA-manufactured outrage."

Attendees were ready to hear from Newsom

Marguerite Patel of Portsmouth lived in the San Francisco Bay area for years and has been familiar with Newsom as he climbed the political ladder there. She was attending with her husband and friend Karin Rhodes, who also used to live in California.

"I'm excited to hear what Gavin has to say," she said. They agreed he has charisma, is likable, and is not afraid to speak to and mix it up on controversial issues. "I want to hear him take a forward-looking position and tell us what he believes in."

Lori Stubbs moved to North Hampton five years ago from San Diego, where Newsom was governor.

"I've always liked him and the things he says," she said. "But I never got a chance to see him in person and so up close like this. I had to move back to New England to see him."

"I'm interested in hearing what he has to say," Michele Bonner of Dover said. "I'm interested to see if he talks about his book or about politics."

Her companion Julie Grass of Portsmouth said, "It's primary season. He's the first of many for sure. I'm open to starting the process."

Political analysts say paid event is unusual

Unlike many candidate events held in the run up to a primary, which are often free, tickets to the New Hampshire event were $48 and included an unsigned copy of the book. Levesque said that coming to the state to sell books rather than give them away was unusual.

"I suspect that that will change as we get further on into the year and closer to the presidential election," he added.

However, University of New Hampshire Survey Center Director Andy Smith said a ticketed event might have been on purpose.

“If it's a ticketed event and you have a lot of people who want to see him, it makes it look like it's a bigger deal,” Smith said. “And then those people who come are kind of special, and they'll talk about it more.”

Newsom’s visit comes amid a string of visits from potential 2028 candidates. Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg held a series of events with New Hampshire Democratic Reps. Chris Pappas and Maggie Goodlander in mid-February, and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear was set to visit the state on March 7-8 to support local Democrats.

Newsom tied for second in early NH polling

In a Feb. 19 poll from the UNH Survey Center, 15% of likely New Hampshire Democratic primary voters would choose Newsom if the 2028 presidential primary was held today. He was tied with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-NY, and both trailed Buttigieg, who led the field with 20%. An Emerson College poll released Feb. 26 found that Newsom leads the Democratic primary field nationally with 20%.