California Governor Gavin Newsom on Tuesday used a video of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping to take a swipe at US President Donald Trump.
The clip, shared on X, shows Modi laughing with Putin and Xi on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Tianjin, China. At one point, Modi is seen walking hand-in-hand with Putin before joining other leaders for a group photograph.
Newsom captioned the video with a jab at Trump’s latest law-and-order pitch. “But have no fear, Trump is sending the Guard to Chicago,” he wrote, referring to the president’s plan to deploy National Guard troops to crack down on crime and illegal immigration in the city.
The California Governor has frequently sparred with Trump, casting himself as a foil to the president’s hardline policies. This time, he leaned on global optics — using Modi’s warm exchanges with Putin and Xi — to land his punchline.
President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he would deploy National Guard troops to fight crime in Chicago, an extraordinary effort to militarise the country’s third-largest city that was likely to trigger a legal battle with local officials.
“We’re going in. I didn’t say when, but we’re going in,” Trump told reporters at the White House.
Hours earlier,w a federal judge blocked Trump’s administration from using the military to fight crime in California, a ruling that does not apply to other states. But the judge said that Trump’s stated desire to send troops to Chicago and other cities provided support for his ruling.
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With inputs from agencies