‘You think he’s joking about 2028?’: Gavin Newsom says we must take threat of third Trump term seriously

2024 was filled with dark predictions about what a second Donald Trump presidency might look like. We even had the Heritage Foundation’s “Project 2025” document spelling out the far right’s ambitions in detail. But those who said that America was about to enter a truly debased era of cruelty and stupidity were roundly mocked by smug “experts”.

After all, we already lived through one Trump presidency. How bad could a second one really be? We heard multiple confident political analysts insist something along the lines of, “If you seriously think he’s going to do all the insane stuff he’s promising, you’re deluded, that’s just red meat to get his base riled up!”

Cut to the present, and even the grimmest and most miserable predictions for Trump 2.0 have been left in the dust by reality. As we speak, Trump is coordinating his personal army of red state troops as they occupy and attack Democrat-controlled cities, painting this intimidation exercise as “crime fighting”.

Meanwhile, Trump himself is openly teasing becoming a dictator and crowing, “I have the right to do anything I want. I’m the President of the United States“. He’s also busily showing off his “Trump 2028” and “Rewrite the Rules” merchandise, underlined that he’s “not joking” about seeking a third term, and insists “A lot of people want me to do it.”

“The rule of Don”

Oh, but while he might say that he clearly is joking… right? I mean, a third Trump term would be crazy! Well, Gavin Newsom has underlined that we need to take Trump very seriously indeed. Speaking with Politico, he said:

“You think he’s joking about 2028? Who spends $200m on a ballroom at their home and then leaves the house? … The rule of law is being replaced by the rule of Don.” 

Newsom also revealed that Trump repeatedly talked about his third term during their Oval Office meeting in the wake of California wildfires, saying “he went on and on about the third term.”

Then he directly addressed the listener, imploring us to recognize that Trump represents a unique threat to America that we need to take seriously: “Wake up. We’re losing this country in real time. This is not bloviation, this is not exaggeration.”

Who knows where we’ll be in a month, let alone three years. But one thing’s for sure, anyone who doubted Trump’s capacity to tear apart the fabric of American democracy and shred the Constitution is now notably silent.