Vivek Ramaswamy waded into the row over immigration protests in Los Angeles by comparing California Gov. Gavin Newsom to a notoriously racist Democratic governor who led the fight against civil rights in the 1960s.
George Wallace was a staunch segregationist who served four terms as governor of Alabama. He was also the last governor to have the National Guard deployed against his wishes, until President Donald Trump deployed federal troops in L.A.
“I know Gavin Newsom. I actually happen to like him as a person,” Ramaswamy said on Fox News’ Jesse Watters Primetime Tuesday night. “The reality is he’s not gonna like what I have to say on this, which is that his behavior is starting to resemble that of another Democratic governor from U.S. history by the name of George Wallace.”
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Wallace made headlines in 1963 when he physically blocked two Black students from enrolling at the University of Alabama. President John F. Kennedy federalized the Alabama National Guard to halt his blockade of the school.
“I say segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever,” Wallace declared in his infamous inaugural address in 1963. His actions led Martin Luther King Jr. to call him “perhaps the most dangerous racist in America today.”
In March, 1965, Wallace forced Kennedy’s successor, President Lyndon B. Johnson, to deploy the National Guard again after he refused to guarantee the safety of civil rights protesters marching from Selma to Montgomery.
It was the last instance of a president “federalizing” the National Guard against the wishes of a state governor until Trump did the same in California at the weekend.
In his Fox News appearance, Ramaswamy, the GOP candidate for Ohio governor, took a wild swing at Newsom, comparing him to the former Alabama governor.
“The parallels are actually pretty striking if you think about it. Democrat governors. When you look at George Wallace, he resisted desegregation. Gavin Newsom is resisting deportations.”
“George Wallace wanted segregated cities, Gavin Newsom wants sanctuary cities. George Wallace stood in the school door, blocking the way. Gavin Newsom is blocking the ICE vans. It’s the same Democrat governor playbook,” Ramaswamy charged.
The Daily Beast has reached out to Newsom’s office for comment.
Newsom, a Democrat, has clashed with President Donald Trump and federal immigration authorities over efforts to deport migrants, actions which have sparked widespread protests.
Trump’s administration is doubling down on its aggressive immigration crackdown, with the president vowing to deport “millions” of immigrants in what he claims will be the largest mass deportation in U.S. history, though some of those caught up in the sweeps have proper documentation.
Demonstrators took to the streets in downtown Los Angeles amid reports that detainees were being held in the basement of a federal building. ICE has denied these claims.
Trump moved to federalize and deployed California’s National Guard to quell the unrest and has ignored Newsom’s calls to return the National Guard troops to his command.
On Tuesday night, the governor likened Trump to “failed dictators” and warned Americans, “other states are next.”
“Like many states, California is no stranger to this sort of unrest,” the California Democrat said in a livestreamed press conference. “We manage it regularly and with our own law enforcement. But this, again, was different. What then ensued was the use of tear gas, flashbang grenades, rubber bullets, federal agents detaining people and undermining their due process rights.”
“Donald Trump, without consulting California law enforcement leaders, commandeered 2,000 of our state’s National Guard members to deploy on our streets, illegally and for no reason,” he continued.
“This brazen abuse of power by a sitting president inflamed a combustible situation, putting our people, our officers, and even our National Guard at risk,” Newsom added.
