Megyn Kelly blasts Newsom for using her past Trump criticism in online trolling campaign

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Conservative commentator Megyn Kelly lashed out at California Gov Gavin Newsom on Tuesday, September 9, after he circulated her past criticism of Donald Trump as part of his latest attacks on the president.

Speaking on her YouTube show, Kelly said Newsom should focus on addressing crime and protecting Californians instead of using her commentary as political fodder.

Gavin Newsom reignites Megyn Kelly's remarks on Trump's troop powers

“I’d love if he would tweet about the constituents in his own state and do something to try to protect them,” Kelly said.

The clash began when Newsom shared a montage on X (formerly Twitter) over the weekend featuring clips of Kelly questioning Trump’s authority to send federal troops into American cities.

In the video, originally from her program, Kelly pointed out that a president cannot deploy military forces without a governor’s approval.

“You can’t just send them into random cities in support of just fighting crime. That, you really can’t do without the invitation of a governor. So we’re heading for an uncomfortable showdown,” she said at the time, adding, “I’m sorry but we can’t have it, he does not have the constitutional permission to do it. It very clearly is not constitutional … I don’t want a world in which I’m siding with Governor Pritzker over President Trump. But I will if he does it, because he can’t do it, legally.”

Alongside the clips, Newsom wrote: “Trump’s base is splintering.”

The governor has long been a critic of Trump’s deployment of federal troops in June, which a judge later ruled illegal. Despite that ruling, about 300 soldiers remain in California.

Megyn Kelly says Gavin Newsom focused on politics over crime

Kelly hit back by pointing to rising crime in California, highlighting a violent jewelry store robbery in San Jose, where an 88-year-old man was attacked.

“What did Gavin Newsom say? Nothing. We’ve seen him say absolutely nothing about it,” she said, accusing the governor of being more concerned with advancing his political career than protecting residents.

“When you have 20 criminals, masked, bursting into your jewelry stores in the middle of the day, you have a crime problem,” she argued.

Kelly also suggested Newsom should have welcomed Trump’s earlier offers of assistance. “Rather than tweeting about me, he should be thrilled to receive President Trump’s offer of help,” she said.