Jennifer Kelly - GOP Strategist / Former Spokeswoman, California Republican Party Joins Houston's Morning News

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
This seems like a bit of a blow to the
sanctuary city and sanctuary state of California when you've got
Governor Gavin Newsom who's decided that he better cooperate with ICE. Now,
is he just doing that because he's counting on Donald
Trump to come up with billions of dollars in relief
for California maybe? Or has he actually decided that it's
not worth fighting the battle over something like this? Join

(00:24):
us talk about Jennifer Kelly, GOP strategist and former spokeswoman
with the California Republican Party. I wouldn't trust him as
far as I can throw them. I'm guessing you wouldn't either.
So what do you think is going on here, Jennifer?

Speaker 2 (00:36):
Well, what a difference a couple of weeks makes, right?
Just a couple of weeks ago, California, including gavenwsim that
we're calling a special session in Sacramento to talk about
how to quote unquote Trump proved the state of California.
And now you have Gavin Newsam doing a turnabout and
acquiescing really to some of Trump's demands on immigration. And look,

(00:59):
it shows just how powerful the Trump administration is as
they're barreling ahead with some of these threats against these
sanctuary cities. And it does appear that Gavin Newsom is
starting to realize just how much of California's funding comes
from the federal government. It's to the tune of about
one hundred and seventy billion dollars. It represents about a

(01:22):
third of California's state budget. And look, Gaven Newsom bucks
Donald Trump on these ice issues, on these customs and
border enforcement issues, He's going to be looking at a
pretty hefty price tag. And so you know, as the
saying goes, money walks, and gavenusm's finding that out pretty quickly.

Speaker 1 (01:42):
In the state of California, well, he's relying on the
federal government for the wildfire relief, and you know that
Trump sockers send wildfire relief to California get their bucking ice.
So he probably has no particular choice in this matter.
But from a practical standpoint, this kind of puts him
between a rock and a hard place, doesn't it, Because
he's got a cowtow to Trump to keep that money
coming in that he defends on. But he's got statewide

(02:03):
Democrats and liberals across the state who probably their support
for Gavin Newsom, which is already kind of tenuous in
some areas, is going to get even less if he
cow tells to Trump.

Speaker 2 (02:15):
Yeah, you know, it's interesting. It's not just the wildfire building,
although that is a key provision of I think what
Trump is holding over his head. And look, Donald Trump
is very shrewd, you know, the former host of The Apprentice.
He knows how to make a deal. He does have
Gavin Newsom's personal cell phone number. Remember back in twenty seventeen,

(02:38):
the two had talked back and forth similarly on a
cell phone about immigration issues. And so look, there's no
doubt in my mind that Donald Trump may have even
reached out to Gavin Newsom in this case and said, hey, look,
you know, your life can be really easy over the
next couple of years, or I can make your life
really difficult. And I think that conversation likely happened between

(03:01):
the two of them. But look, it's not just the
California rebuilding. If you look at the it's about thirty
eight percent at the California state budget that the federal
government supplies, and that's where things like infrastructure, highway building,
road improvement, health and human services really a number of issues.

(03:21):
And look, if Gavin Newsom had buffed the Trump administration
this early into the first hundred days, I think he
would have been looking down the barrel of a really
big financial problem. And that's the last thing gavinusam needs
on his hands right now.

Speaker 1 (03:35):
Well, especially with the fact that California is still bleeding residents,
many of them coming here to Texas. Is the only
two well know Jennifer Kelly. So he's going to have
to figure out a way. Gavenussum is to turn that around,
isn't he.

Speaker 2 (03:47):
He is, although you know it's interesting he sort of
shrugs that off. And look, I think some of that
is actually by design. I think California, you know, wants
people to leave the state. Remember the radical left wing
environmentalists of the state of California. They're always looking for
ways for people not to build, for there not to

(04:07):
be growth, you know, to starve certain areas of the
Southland in southern California of water. So they actually like
the fact that people are leaving California. It's kind of
this twisted mentality of the radical environmental left out there.
So I don't think gavenus is too concerned about that.
You know, the solution for them is always, Hey, if

(04:28):
people leave and tax revenue leaves, well we'll just charge
the people who are here left, We'll charge them more.
That seems to be the solution always in the state
of California. So from that standpoint, I don't think he's
too concerned, but you do get concerned when the guy
who's paying your bills, Big Daddy Trump now is the

(04:49):
guy who's paying the bills. He's paying about forty percent
of the bills in the state of California. You just
don't bite the hand that feeds you, especially if you're Gavenusan,
especially if you're looking to run in twenty twenty eight,
which Gavin Newsom is looking to run for president twenty
twenty eight. You just don't want to have that extra
load of a prices on your hands. And I think

(05:11):
that's what this is about, all right.

Speaker 1 (05:12):
Jennifer, good to talk to you. Thank you. GP strategist
former spokeswoman for the California Republican Party, Jennifer Kelly