California Gov. Gavin Newsom at the CNN presidential debate between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump in Atlanta on June 27, 2024.

WASHINGTON − California Gov. Gavin Newsom said he is worried there will not be a presidential election in a little more than three years, calling the Trump administration’s actions “authoritarian.”

"I fear that we will not have an election in 2028. I really mean that in the core of my soul − unless we wake up to the code red, what's happening in this country, and we wake up soberly to how serious this moment is," Newsom said during a Sept. 23 appearance on “The Late Show” with Stephen Colbert.

One of the Democratic party’s most forceful critics of President Donald Trump and a prospective candidate for the next White House race, Newsom blasted the Republican administration for taking “authoritarian actions” amid a nationwide immigration enforcement crackdown.

Federal agents have arrested immigrants in courthouses and other places across the United States, including in Florida, stripping them of due process protections, as NBC News reported. Family members and pro-immigration advocates have said that in some of the arrests, immigration judges dropped active cases against migrants, potentially expediting the deportation process.

Newsom recently signed a bill barring local and federal officials from wearing masks during operations.

“I mean if some guy jumped out of an unmarked car and a van with a mask on and tried to grab me. I mean by definition, you’re going to push back,” Newsom said. “And so these are not just authoritarian tendencies. These are authoritarian actions by an authoritarian government.”

White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson in a statement called Newsom's remarks about the 2028 election "absurd" and a "conspiracy theory."

Trump has previously said he "probably" won't run for a third term in 2028. The Constitution restricts presidents to two terms in office. Trump also suggested to reporters that Vance was “most likely” the heir to the MAGA movement, though Vance has said it's "way too early" to consider the 2028 election.

Newsom also criticized Trump for pushing a redistricting effort in Texas aimed at helping Republicans win as many as five more seats in the 2026 midterms. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed Texas’ new congressional map into law in August.

In response, Newsom is spearheading his own redistricting effort in California that could give Democrats up to five new seats in the 2026 midterms. Voters are set to weigh in on Newsom's proposal in November through a ballot measure.

Newsom previously said during an Aug. 27 interview at Politico’s “The California Agenda: Sacramento Summit” that he thinks Trump will seek to remain in office beyond his constitutional term limit in 2028, and use federal agents to try to rig future elections in his and his Republican supporters’ favor.

“I don’t think Donald Trump wants another election,” he told a Politico moderator at the time. “I have two dozen Trump 2028 hats his folks keep sending me.” Newsom didn't go into details on how he thinks a 2028 election would be canceled.

Contributing: Josh Meyer, USA TODAY; Jeff Abbott, El Paso Times

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Gavin Newsom fears there won’t be a presidential election in 2028

Reporting by Sudiksha Kochi, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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