Podcast Summary: "And, This is Trump's Invasion With JB Pritzker & Tina Kotek"

Podcast: This is Gavin Newsom
Host: Gavin Newsom
Guests: JB Pritzker (Governor of Illinois), Tina Kotek (Governor of Oregon)
Date: October 10, 2025
Episode Description:
Governor Gavin Newsom convenes with fellow Democratic Governors JB Pritzker and Tina Kotek to discuss the Trump administration's unprecedented and aggressive federal deployment of military and National Guard units into U.S. cities. With court battles unfolding, the conversation explores the constitutional dimensions, consequences for communities, and deeper motivations behind these federal actions, focusing on their impacts on democracy, public trust, and rule of law.

Main Theme and Purpose

The episode centers on what the governors describe as the “militarization” and “federalization” of city and state law enforcement and National Guard units by the Trump administration in 2025. They provide personal and legal responses to recent deployments into Chicago, Portland, Los Angeles, and beyond, framing these moves as unprecedented, unconstitutional, and as a warning sign for American democracy. The dialogue is candid, urgent, and at points deeply personal, as the leaders both compare their experiences and query the larger purposes behind the President’s controversial escalation.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Unprecedented Federal Actions in Cities

• Deployment of Military Forces:
  • President Trump called up 700 active-duty Marines and 4,000 National Guard not for foreign conflict, but deployed them domestically into major American cities without state consent (00:13, 21:30).
  • Recent deployments involve units from various states, including California National Guard diverted to Illinois and Oregon.
• Raising the Alarm:
  • Newsom, Pritzker, and Kotek all agree this represents an "unprecedented" federal overreach and a constitutional crisis with substantial impact on the rule of law and local communities (00:10, 21:30).
  • Tina Kotek:

  “This is unprecedented in modern American history. This is, dare I say, a constitutional crisis.” (00:13)

2. Legal Response—and Breaking News

• Court Victories:
  • Pritzker shares news that a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) has been granted by an Illinois judge against further federal deployment, with the judge questioning the credibility of DHS, ICE, and CBP (06:31).
  • Similar court action protected Oregon after Trump sought to send guard units there against the governor’s wishes (09:47; 10:43).
  • Tina Kotek:

  “We went to court and got a temporary restraining order... the judges are looking at the facts on the ground. They're talking to local law enforcement… does the president have the ability to call this an insurrection and a rebellion? He does not." (11:12)

• Rule of Law:
  • All governors express gratitude for the courts, but unease about potential Supreme Court outcomes given its Trump-appointed majority.
  • Pritzker:

  “I'm not very confident about what the Supreme Court will do... But we have to rely on our courts at the moment. That really is the only place that we can go for justice.” (36:32)

3. On-the-Ground Reality and Public Impact

• Reality vs. Rhetoric:
  • All push back against federal narratives of “lawlessness” and “insurrection,” asserting their cities are not war zones as described by Washington (13:21, 14:22).
  • Kotek:

  “Portland is not burning. We are not a military target… I'm out shopping, I'm going to the park. I'm running in a marathon in downtown Portland... this is not a war zone.” (13:21)

• Traumatizing Operations:
  • Pritzker details a raid in a Chicago apartment building where ICE agents, backed by military helicopters, forced entry, ransacked homes, zip-tied children and residents (14:49).
  • He notes a lack of law enforcement training among these agents and the use of media for propagandistic effect:

  “It looked like Fallujah... They set up dozens of cameras for social media purposes... to turn it into this sort of, I don't know, adventure looking thing for Kristi Noem’s social media... traumatized children... elderly people... entire community... wondering, like, are they next?” (14:49)

  • “People are afraid to go outside... children trying to get to school, their parents trying to walk them there...” (16:08)

4. Political Hypocrisy and Underlying Motivations

• Kristi Noem’s Reversal:
  • Discuss the irony and hypocrisy of Kristi Noem now championing federalization, when she previously denounced the idea as a constitutional violation during Biden’s term (20:06–21:02).
  • Kotek:

  "Did that come up in your conversation? Was there an expression of complete recognition of her hypocrisy?" (20:06)

• Motives Beyond Law & Order:
  • Suggest the moves are about politics, power, and pre-positioning for claims of voter fraud in the next election cycle. Pritzker warns of potential use of militarized forces to intimidate at polling places in 2026, drawing a direct line to January 6th and Michael Flynn’s calls for ballot confiscation (30:40–32:55).
  • Pritzker:

  “What they're going to do is use the voter rolls... to try to make a claim next year at election time in November, if they're losing the election, that there is fraud... and that therefore those elections either should be disregarded or that they should be able to count the ballots themselves.” (30:40)

• Expansion of ICE and CBP Powers:
  • Massive increases in ICE funding ("$100 billion to beef up ICE") and the shift of other agencies' personnel toward ICE and CBP roles (12:43; 29:12).
  • Concerns over CBP operating far from borders, using technicalities to justify presence in cities like Chicago (47:51).

5. Risks of Authoritarian Creep and Need for Mobilization

• Normalization of Domestic Troops:
  • Newsom warns this cannot be normalized:

  “He told a room full of hundreds of military generals that it’s an okay idea to put our military troops... into our cities for practice. Can't allow this to be normalized because the authoritarianism is going to creep up on us.” (34:45)

• Faith in the Courts—But Not the System as a Whole:
  • All express anxiety regarding the Supreme Court but take hope in local and lower federal court decisions.
  • Calls for increased public vigilance, legal support, and—above all—voting.

6. Community Reaction and Civil Society Response

• Public Outrage & Grassroots Resistance:
  • Widespread popular anger reported in both Illinois and Oregon, with especially strong objection from veterans who understand the proper role of the National Guard (49:37).
  • Pritzker details local protest actions, emphasizes the importance of filming raids and showing up at the polls:

  “Their neighbors are coming out and yelling at the isof [ICE officers]. ...In the end... people have to show up and vote against it in 2026, in November.” (50:01)

7. Respect for National Guard, and Emotional Toll

• All three underscore deep respect for National Guard members and lament that they are being placed in positions antithetical to their intended mission (09:38, 21:30, 54:15).
• Stress that these are ordinary neighbors, community members who typically help in crises—not occupy cities under suspicion.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (With Timestamps)

• On Federal Overreach and Crisis:
  • “This is unprecedented in modern American history. This is, dare I say, a constitutional crisis.”
    —Tina Kotek (00:13)
  • “The only invasion or mayhem that's occurring is happening because the Trump administration is visiting it upon our city.”
    —JB Pritzker (00:02, 14:49)
  • "This is not who we are as Americans. We have checks and balances. We have the courts."
    —Gavin Newsom (00:10, 34:45)
• On Ground-Level Trauma:
  • “It looked like Fallujah. ...Everything was ransacked... The result is we have traumatized children. We've got elderly people... entire community...wondering, are they next?”
    —JB Pritzker (14:49)
• On Political Double Standard:
  • “There was a governor by the name of Noem, Kristi Noem, who just last year... outraged, outraged by the very notion that then President Joe Biden would consider... federalize her National Guard... she said that would be a clear constitutional violation...and we would have, quote, unquote, a war... Did that come up in your conversation?”
    —Tina Kotek (20:06)
• On Deeper Political Motivations:
  • “They're deploying troops into major American cities and right now all blue cities, Democratic controlled cities in blue Democratic controlled states... All 50 states had our voter rolls called up by the DOJ...”
    —JB Pritzker (29:12)
  • "This is about something much more insidious than just control. In the short run, this is about power. In the long run..."
    —Gavin Newsom (34:45)
• On Courts and Rule of Law:
  • “We have to rely on our courts and believe in the law and the Constitution of the United States. It is working so far…”
    —JB Pritzker (37:35)
  • “We fought for the rule of law. ...Our country is based on a rule of law for a reason.”
    —Gavin Newsom (39:32)
• On Insurrection Act & Militarization:
  • “He doesn't need to invoke the Insurrection Act. He's already militarized the Customs and Border Patrol and ICE. ...It was CBP that was marching around in uniforms with automatic weapons in downtown Chicago. That was CBP... not ICE. ...He doesn’t need the military to do what he wants to do—militarize the cities.”
    —JB Pritzker (46:47)
• On Community Resistance and Hope:
  • “Here’s what gives me hope. You see people coming out of their homes onto the sidewalks, yelling and pulling out their phones to video film everything. ... It also becomes, I think, inspiring for people across the country to say, this is wrong. We've got to do something about this.”
    —JB Pritzker (50:01)
  • “The vast majority of Oregonians are mad. They don't agree with this. ... The group that is most impactful... it's our veterans... They know that this is wrong, and they are appalled by it.”
    —Tina Kotek (49:37)

Important Segment Timestamps

• Opening context, crisis framing: (00:00–00:13)
• Background on Trump’s domestic deployments: (00:13–01:30)
• JB Pritzker court update / TRO: (06:31–07:37; 52:48–54:15)
• Legal rationale and response: (10:43–12:43)
• Pushback against "lawless city" narrative: (13:21)
• Detailed account of Chicago ICE raid: (14:49–16:08)
• Discussion of Kristi Noem’s flip: (20:06–21:02)
• Analysis of deeper motives (2026 election, ICE/CBP expansion): (29:12–34:45)
• Concerns about Supreme Court and rule of law: (36:32–39:32)
• Insurrection Act and CBP outside border: (46:47–47:53)
• Community reaction/veterans/civic outrage: (49:37–52:01)
• Closing reflections and statements of solidarity: (54:15–56:58)

Tone and Language

The conversation is impassioned, often dire, yet anchored by a commitment to constitutional principles and civic duty. The speakers balance legal analysis with personal stories and plainspoken expressions of alarm. The overall mood is urgent, occasionally sardonic, and deeply concerned with American democratic identity.

Conclusion

This episode provides an unfiltered, insider's account from three Democratic governors on facing what they see as a federal assault on American democracy via domestic militarization. They diagnose deep constitutional hazards, detail traumatic local impacts, challenge political hypocrisy, and rally listeners to legal, civic, and electoral action. The dialogue is both a contemporary history lesson and a call to vigilance, with the future of American norms at stake.