California Gov. Gavin Newsom finally admitted to what has been extremely obvious for some time: The Democrat wants to be president and is giving “serious thought” to a run for the White House in 2028.

“I’d be lying otherwise,” Newsom said Oct. 26 on “CBS News Sunday Morning.” “I’d just be lying. And I’m not − I can’t do that.”

Newsom has made pushing back against President Donald Trump a top priority, and he’s even taken to mimicking Trump’s brash social media style.

Newsom wants to be noticed.

While the blue-state governor may have the looks and the charm, his record speaks loudly to why he shouldn’t get America’s top political job.

California is indeed the poster child for liberal policies that do not work, and Newsom has been their biggest backer. From a $20 minimum wage for fast-food workers to costly government programs that are bankrupting the state, the list is long as to why California-style governing is the last thing this country needs.

I want to focus on just one of the glaring problems.

California keeps allowing illegal immigrants to get driver's licenses

Two recent deadly vehicle accidents make a strong case for why California’s lax policies on illegal immigration are very wrong for the state – and would be for the country.

California is already well-known for its “sanctuary” status, meaning it actively works against federal immigration laws. The state offers driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants, too, among other benefits typically reserved for citizens and other legal residents.

On Oct. 21, three innocent people were killed – and several others were injured – by 21-year-old Jashanpreet Singh, who was driving a semi-truck on a California highway.

Harrowing dash-cam footage of the accident makes it appear that Singh never even hit the brakes before obliterating the vehicles in front of him.

Singh, who is from India, has been charged with vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence for driving under the influence and causing injury.

He was also in the country illegally, released at the southern border in 2022 under former President Joe Biden’s watch. Shortly following the accident, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement lodged an arrest detainer for Singh.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed in a briefing on Oct. 23 that California issued Singh the commercial driver’s license. Newsom has countered that the federal government had previously issued and renewed Singh's employment authorization needed to obtain a commercial license. But it was still California's decision to give him the license.

“This is a heinous tragedy that took three lives and severely injured others,” said San Bernardino County District Attorney Jason Anderson in a statement. “Frankly, it was easily avoidable if the defendant was not driving in a grossly negligent manner and impaired. Had the rule of law been followed by State and Federal officials the defendant should have never been in California at all.”

Indeed.

Trump is fighting against open borders and failed policies

It’s not the first time California policies that grant illegal immigrants driver's licenses have been linked to a fatal accident.

In August, another foreign truck driver caused a deadly collision in Florida that killed three people. The driver, also from India, was charged with three counts of vehicular homicide and had entered the country illegally via Mexico in 2018, according to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.

The driver allegedly did not speak English and had been issued a non-domiciled commercial driver’s license by California in 2024. He’d previously been issued a CDL by Washington state, even though he’d failed the test 10 times prior to receiving it, according to Fox News.

In light of the August accident, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy had already taken action to tighten rules for who can get commercial licenses. On Oct. 15, he said the Transportation Department would withhold $40 million from California after an investigation found it was the only state not enforcing English language requirements for truckers.

Duffy was clearly upset by the latest deadly crash in California.

“This is exactly why I set new restrictions that prohibit ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS from operating trucks,” he said via social media on Oct 23.

Under the Trump administration, Biden’s open border has effectively been closed and many of these other dangerous policies are being quashed.

The last thing we need is for Newsom to make the rest of the country look more like California.

Ingrid Jacques is a columnist at USA TODAY. Contact her at ijacques@usatoday.com or on X: @Ingrid_Jacques

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Newsom thinks he can be president, but California's policies are killing people | Opinion

Reporting by Ingrid Jacques, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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