President Donald Trump has escalated his feud with California Governor Gavin Newsom, publicly supporting the idea that Newsom should be arrested.

On June 8, Tom Homan, Trump’s border czar, warned that legal action could be taken against any official obstructing immigration enforcement, specifically naming Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. In response, Newsom openly challenged Homan, saying in an MSNBC interview, “Come after me, arrest me. Let’s just get it over with, tough guy, you know? I don’t give a damn. But I care about my community. I care about this community.”

When asked by reporters if he thought Homan should arrest Newsom, Trump replied, “I would do it if I were Tom. I think it’s great. Gavin likes the publicity, but I think it would be a great thing. He’s done a terrible job. I like Gavin Newsom. He’s a nice guy, but he’s grossly incompetent. Everybody knows”. Trump further described the Los Angeles protesters as “professional agitators” and “insurrectionists,” stating, “They should be in jail”.

Governor Newsom responded forcefully, warning that Trump’s remarks represented “an unmistakable step toward authoritarianism.” On social media, Newsom wrote, “The President of the United States just called for the arrest of a sitting Governor. This is a day I hoped I would never see in America. I don’t care if you’re a Democrat or a Republican, this is a line we cannot cross as a nation”.

A president has never suggested a sitting governor be arrested and the U.S. Constitution does not grant the president personal powers of arrest. While the president can direct federal law enforcement to act within the bounds of the law, there is no record of a president ever having a governor arrested for political reasons or for obstructing federal policy. If a governor were to commit a federal crime, they could be subject to arrest by federal law enforcement, not by the president personally.