California Gov. Gavin Newsom accused Donald Trump of “putting his ego before his responsibility” over a military demonstration that included live artillery fire on a major highway in the state's south.
Newsom said safety concerns about the event prompted state officials to close a portion of busy Interstate 5 near U.S. Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton on Saturday.
“With this disregard for public safety, the president is putting his ego ahead of his responsibility,” the Democratic governor said in a statement. “Firing live ammunition over a busy highway is not only wrong – it's dangerous. Using our military to intimidate people you disagree with is not force – it's reckless, it's disrespectful, and it's beneath the office he holds.”
In an earlier post on X, Newsom condemned the event as an “absurd show of force” and “totally inappropriate.”
U.S. Marine Corps officials said there was nothing dangerous about the exercise at Camp Pendleton, where gunfire is common, and that there was no need to disrupt traffic on Interstate 5, the main highway along the Pacific Coast between San Diego and Los Angeles.
The California Highway Patrol said in a statement that the military event would involve “the firing of live ammunition by the federal government across the freeway” and called for a portion of the freeway to be temporarily closed due to safety risks and driver distraction.
The event celebrated the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Marine Corps and included a live-fire demonstration of amphibious capabilities at Red Beach in Oceanside in northwest San Diego County.
Vice President J.D. Vance, a former enlisted Marine who served in Iraq, spoke at the event, which was attended by thousands of Marines, sailors, veterans and families, and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth also spoke.
“The capability demonstration will include integrated Navy and Marine Corps operations in the air, land and sea,” the Marine Corps said in a statement.
The dispute underscored growing tensions between Trump and the California governor, who has frequently criticized the administration's decisions.
Earlier in October, the Navy received the president aboard an aircraft carrier off the coast of Virginia to celebrate the same military anniversary. Trump turned the event into a political rally.
Saturday's military event coincided with No rallies or marches of kings are held throughout the United States, including several locations in Californiasupporting the idea that the country's slide into authoritarian rule under Trump must be stopped.
Newsom warned those participating in the rallies: “I call on our country to use the No Kings marches this weekend as a declaration of independence against the tyranny and lawlessness that currently rules this country. Use your voice. ACT PEACEFULLY. Protect yourself and your community. THERE ARE NO KINGS IN THE UNITED STATES.”
In a statement to the New York Times, Vance spokesman William Martin said Newsom was misleading the public about the security risks of Saturday's event. He said it was a normal training session. “If Gavin Newsom wants to oppose exercises that would make our military the deadliest and deadliest fighting force in the world, then he can go further,” Martin said.
Matt Rocco, a spokesman for the California Department of Transportation, said: “This is all due to a military event organized by the White House, for the safety of the public we need to close the freeway because live ammunition is being dumped on the freeway.”
Rocco said the I5 closure could cost up to two more hours of travel time for those commuting between San Diego and Los Angeles. The highway carries 80,000 passengers and $94 million worth of freight daily, according to the governor's office. Passenger rail service running parallel to I5 was also canceled for the afternoon.
