California governor says Trump is ‘putting his ego ahead of the buck’ as military parade shuts down highway | San Diego
California Governor Gavin Newsom accused Donald Trump of “putting his ego in charge” over a military parade that included the firing of live artillery shells on a major highway in the state’s south.
Safety concerns about the event forced state officials to close a portion of busy Interstate 5 near U.S. Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton on Saturday, Newsom said.
“The president is putting his ego before the buck with this disregard for public safety,” the Democratic governor said in a statement. “Firing live ammunition on a busy highway is not just wrong — it’s dangerous. And using our military to intimidate people you don’t agree with is not force — it’s reckless, it’s disrespectful, and it’s beneath the office he holds.”
In an earlier post on X, Newsom condemned the event as a “ridiculous show of force” and “completely unjustified.”
US Marine Corps officials said there was nothing unsafe about the exercises at Camp Pendleton, where artillery firing is a routine event, and that it was not necessary to disrupt traffic on Interstate 5, the main highway along the Pacific Coast between San Diego and Los Angeles.
The California Highway Patrol said in a statement that the military event would include “the federal government firing live ammunition onto the highway” and called for a portion of the highway to be temporarily closed due to risks to safety and distracted drivers.
The event celebrated the 250th anniversary of the United States Marine Corps and included a live-fire amphibious capabilities demonstration at Red Beach in Oceanside in northwest San Diego County.
President J.D. Vance, a former Marine who served in Iraq, spoke at the event attended by thousands of Marines, sailors, veterans and their families, while Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also delivered remarks.
“The capabilities demonstration will include integrated Navy and Marine Corps operations across air, land and sea,” the Marine Corps statement said.
The dispute highlights growing tensions between Trump and the governor of California, who has often criticized the president’s administration’s decisions.
Earlier in October, the Navy hosted the president aboard an aircraft carrier off the coast of Virginia to mark the same military anniversary. Trump turned the event into a political rally.
Saturday’s military event coincided with “No Kings” rallies and marches held across the United States, including several locations in California, aligning with the message that the country’s slide into authoritarian rule under Trump must stop.
Newsom to caution Marchers: “I urge our nation to use the ‘No Kings’ marches this weekend as a declaration of independence against the tyranny and lawlessness that currently runs this country. Use your voice. Act peacefully. Protect yourself and your community. There are no kings in the United States.”
In a statement to The New York Times, Vance spokesman William Martin said Newsom was misleading the public about the security risks of Saturday’s event. He said it was routine training. “If Gavin Newsom wants to oppose training that ensures our armed forces are the deadliest, deadliest fighting force in the world, he can move forward immediately,” Martin said.
“This is all because of the military event that was run by the White House, and for the safety of the public, we need to close the highway because they are sending live munitions down the highway,” said Matt Rocco, a spokesman for the California Department of Transportation.
The I5 closure could cost up to another two hours of commute time for those commuting between San Diego and Los Angeles, Rocco said. The highway carries 80,000 passengers and $94 million in freight through the corridor daily, according to the governor’s office. Commuter rail services running parallel to the I5 motorway were also canceled in the afternoon.