California Gov. Gavin Newsom is demanding that President Donald Trump abandon a GOP-led redistricting push in Texas following a Democratic walkout that blocked the vote in the Lone Star State over a Republican effort to redraw congressional maps.

The Democratic governor warned the partisan battle risks spiraling into a national redistricting "arms race" and urged Trump to "stand down."

After days of aggressive back and forth between the two leaders, Newsom tweeted from the official page of the Governor Newsom Press Office, mocking Trump in what was ostensibly meant to mimic the president’s idiosyncratic style of using all-caps and superlatives for many of his posts. 

DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST SAYS PARTY LACKS 'MORAL AUTHORITY' ON TEXAS REDISTRICTING FIGHT

"DONALD ‘TACO’ TRUMP, AS MANY CALL HIM, ‘MISSED’ THE DEADLINE!!! CALIFORNIA WILL NOW DRAW NEW, MORE ‘BEAUTIFUL MAPS,’ THEY WILL BE HISTORIC AS THEY WILL END THE TRUMP PRESIDENCY (DEMS TAKE BACK THE HOUSE!). BIG PRESS CONFERENCE THIS WEEK WITH POWERFUL DEMS AND GAVIN NEWSOM — YOUR FAVORITE GOVERNOR — THAT WILL BE DEVASTATING FOR ‘MAGA.’ THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER! — GN," the tweet read. 

Newsom’s hyperbolic, Trump-mimicking tone suggested that California will be retaliating in the ongoing redistricting battle unless red states like Texas abort their partisan map plans.

The governor seemed to double down on comments on X from Monday in which he posted a video along with the caption: 

"Donald Trump: It’s time to call Greg Abbott and tell him to stand down. You are not ‘entitled’ to 5 congressional seats. If you do not call your lapdogs off, CA will act quickly and swiftly. We will go to the ballot. We will neutralize whatever gains you make. We will not stand by while you light Democracy on fire."

CALIFORNIA LAUNCHES REDISTRICTING FIGHT TO ‘NULLIFY’ TEXAS GOP PLAN, WITH DEMS POISED TO GAIN 5 SEATS

The post coincided with a letter to Trump from Monday accusing the president of "playing with fire."

The governor said he is prepared to do whatever it takes to combat any gains that the republicans may achieve through efforts in Texas.

"You are playing with fire, risking the destabilization of our democracy, while knowing that California can neutralize any gains you hope to make," Newsom told Trump in the letter. 

"This attempt to rig congressional maps to hold onto power before a single vote is cast in the 2026 election is an affront to American democracy," Newsom said. 

Newsom said he was in favor of leaving the decision to independent commissions, and that he would "happily" stand down if other states followed suit in the redistricting effort.

In another snarky, all-caps tweet meant to mimic Trump’s social media style, Newsom’s office summarized the letter: "DONALD TRUMP, IF YOU DO NOT STAND DOWN, WE WILL BE FORCED TO LEAD AN EFFORT TO REDRAW THE MAPS IN CA TO OFFSET THE RIGGING OF MAPS IN RED STATES. BUT IF THE OTHER STATES CALL OFF THEIR REDISTRICTING EFFORTS, WE WILL DO THE SAME. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER!"

Newsom’s threat could mark a dramatic reversal of California’s voter-approved independent redistricting process and potentially require legislative action or even a statewide ballot measure. 

While this is only intended as a political counterpunch, the move has sparked debate among Democrats’ and Republicans’ about whether the party risks sacrificing its moral high ground on fair maps.

MSNBC host Symone Sanders-Townsend pushed back on increased police presence in D.C., claiming during a panel Tuesday that, as a Black woman, she doesn't believe more officers make communities safer—particularly in predominantly Black neighborhoods.

Sanders-Townsend, who served as chief spokesperson and senior adviser to former Vice President Kamala Harris before joining MSNBC in 2022, spoke on President Donald Trump’s new initiative to stop crime in the nation’s capital. 

Trump announced Monday that he plans to deploy approximately 800 National Guard troops and assume oversight of the Metropolitan Police Department to tackle rising crime in Washington, D.C. The announcement caused shockwaves across media, but some, like MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough, hinted that there may be some truth to Trump saying there is a crisis. 

"There has been a problem in D.C. It’s not as bad as it was 2 or 3 years ago, but it’s not as safe as Manhattan. It’s not as safe as the nation’s capital should be. By the way, I’ve lived in D.C. for 32 years. I can go chapter and verse if you’d like me to," Scarborough said. 

CNN PANEL KNOCKS NATIONAL DEMOCRATS ON 'TONE-DEAF' RESPONSE TO TRUMP DC CRIME PLAN

Sanders-Townsend appeared openly shocked at Scarborough’s words and pushed back, citing her experience as having lived in D.C. for the last 10 years and her husband running the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington. 

"It is perceived violence amplified by some actual real acts of violence," she said before adding, "the way I’ve heard D.C. being described this morning is like it’s a city under siege, like it’s a dangerous place, clutching your pearls, you’ve got to keep your bag under your dress when you leave the house. And that’s just not true."

She said that the conversation is revolving around these instances of "juvenile crime" that Trump is using as a pretext for his "authoritatrain overreach." 

Sanders-Townsend argued there is just barely enough real crime to make people think that Trump may have some legitimate reason to take such action, but all the while, people are "ignoring the fact that more police officers on the street are not going to fix the issue of juvenile crime."

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Scarborough urged her to clarify, asking, "You don’t think more police make streets safer?"

"No, Joe. I’m a Black woman in America," she said. "I do not always think that more police make streets safer. When you walk down the streets of Georgetown, you don’t see a police officer on every corner, but you don’t feel unsafe."

"So what is it about talking about places like southeast D.C., right, Ward 8, if you will, that people say, ‘Well, we need more officers to make us safe?’ I think we have to rethink what safety means in America," Sanders-Townsend argued.