‘A symbol of our nation’s decline.’ Trump vows to remake California
Good morning. It’s Thursday, March 21. Here’s what you need to know to start your day.
- Trump’s campaign promises would alter California
- Biden touts high-speed rail between Southern California and Las Vegas
- Seventeen luxurious things to do in L.A. under $100
- And here’s today’s e-newspaper
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Several Trump campaign promises would conflict with California policies
Buckle up. The general election matchup between President Biden and former President Trump is set. And when he looks west, Trump promises to reshape California if he wins a second term.
Throughout his campaign, Trump has lambasted California — portraying the state as a dystopian failure brought about, he claims, by Democratic policies.
“It has become a symbol of our nation’s decline,” he told California Republicans last year.
Times columnist Doyle McManus took a look at Trump’s rhetoric and vows about the Golden State and wrote about what might be in store. Here are three of McManus’ takeaways:
Trump pledges to send law enforcement officials into California
McManus writes:
Trump says he’ll send federal law enforcement officers into Oakland and other cities to stop rampant shoplifting. “If you rob a store, you can fully expect to be shot as you are leaving that store — shot!” he said.
McManus adds:
He says he’ll close the U.S.-Mexico border on his first day in office — the day he has set aside to act as “a dictator” — and launch “the largest domestic deportation operation in American history.”
His Santa Monica-born immigration advisor, Stephen Miller, says that if Democratic states such as California don’t cooperate, Trump could order National Guard units from red states such as Texas to cross their borders — a recipe for constitutional crisis.
Trump is focusing on California’s renewable energy, fuel standards and water supply.
McManus writes:
Trump has promised to scrap President Biden’s programs to promote renewable energy, including subsidies for electric vehicles and charging stations. His advisors have proposed limiting California’s power to set fuel emission standards for automobiles.
He says he’ll stop the state from allowing Sacramento River water to flow into the Pacific to protect the Sacramento Delta. “We’re not going to let them get away with that any longer,” he said. (Water experts say it would be impractical and environmentally disastrous to divert the river’s flow completely. Newsom has already suspended some environmental laws to send more water to reservoirs and is preparing to build a new water tunnel under the delta.)
Trump’s team may be better prepared this time around.
McManus writes:
His first term was launched with little preparation and no detailed transition plan. This time, he’s likely to appoint a more thoroughly Trumpified White House staff and Cabinet, with fewer moderates applying the brakes.
The Supreme Court, with three Trump appointees in its six-seat majority, is friendlier too.
And pro-Trump policy wonks have already produced a 920-page handbook of policy proposals for a second Trump term, “Project 2025.”
Those proposals suggest that a second Trump term, like the first, would produce major collisions between the White House and California’s Democratic-run state government, McManus writes.
“If campaign promises have any meaning, you’re looking not just at a second term; you’re looking at Trump on steroids,” Larry Gerston, an emeritus professor of political science at San Jose State University, told McManus. “The impact on California would be very real.”
Some of Trump’s proposed ideas may still be difficult to carry out, Donald F. Kettl of the University of Texas, an expert on federal-state relations, told McManus.
But Kettl had a warning: “At the end of the first Trump term, there was frustration among his aides that they had finally figured out what they wanted to do, but ran out of time. They’ve spent four years planning, learning from their mistakes and compiling an action plan.”
Today’s top stories
The transition to electric vehicles
- The Biden administration revs up plans to transition from gas-powered vehicles to EVs.
- California bans sales of new gas-powered cars by 2035. Now the real work begins.
- Editorial: Hold the applause. Biden’s new EV rules don’t go fast enough for the climate crisis.
High speed rail in California
- Biden touts high-speed rail between Southern California and Las Vegas.
- A new high-speed train from Vegas to SoCal will be a model for the nation — if it succeeds.
- High-speed rail is coming to the Central Valley. Residents see a new life in the fast lane.
Texas’ controversial immigration law
- Mexico’s president lashes out over Texas law that would target migrants at the border.
- After whiplash rulings, judges weigh whether Texas can start enforcing controversial immigration law.
- A divided Supreme Court clears the way for Texas to arrest migrants suspected of illegal entry.
- How Texas’ plans to arrest migrants for illegal entry would work if allowed to take effect.
‘Quiet on Set’ docuseries
- Drake Bell gets an apology from other Nickelodeon star who laughed at ‘Quiet on Set’ doc.
- Dan Schneider says ‘Quiet on Set’ allegations made him feel ‘awful and regretful.’
- ‘Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV’: 6 key takeaways from the documentary.
- Lorraine Ali: ‘Quiet on Set’ allegations forced Dan Schneider to speak up. Now, more should.
Kate Middleton saga
- Amid Kate frenzy, hospital responds to Catherine’s reported medical-records breach.
- Another Kate Middleton sighting? Unedited pics or it didn’t happen.
- What the frenzy over Kate Middleton’s ‘disappearance’ says about the royals — and us.
- AP retracts Kate Middleton photo ‘because it appeared to be manipulated.’
- As with Diana and Meghan, palace missteps in the Kate Middleton saga spark a royal crisis.
Jonathan Majors lawsuit
- Jonathan Majors’ ex-girlfriend sues the actor alleging defamation and battery a year after his arrest.
- Jonathan Majors is found guilty on counts of assault and harassment, not guilty of two others.
- Jonathan Majors believes he has a future in Hollywood after conviction: ‘It’s God’s plan.’
More big stories
- Shohei Ohtani’s attorneys accuse interpreter of ‘massive theft’ tied to alleged gambling.
- Lego heads? California police department posts mug shots but without real faces.
- Biden courts Latino voters and presses housing affordability, manufacturing in Nevada and Arizona.
- On reopening day, community calls the revival of Cafe Tropical a ‘triumph.’
- Children on Skid Row: Four migrant families form a tenuous community.
- Newsom and Democrats announce a plan to reduce the enormous budget deficit. How? TBD.
- Border security is swaying some California Democrats — and could sway control of Congress.
- How getting ‘jacked up’ by police helped shape the LAPD’s chief watchdog.
- Voters approve Proposition 1, Newsom’s overhaul of the California mental health system.
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Commentary and opinions
- Editorial: The LAPD needs a better way to fire cops. So why are city leaders slow-walking reform?
- Gustavo Arellano: Ysabel Jurado made history in the primary. Can she do it against Kevin de León?
- Editorial: Why does it have to be so hard to get a speed hump in Los Angeles?
- Dylan Hernández: Shohei Ohtani’s Dodgers debut feels like a breath of fresh air, for Shohei Ohtani.
- Patt Morrison: What became of Marlon Brando’s ecological wonderland on the sea? I visited to find out.
- Harry Litman: Aileen Cannon’s handling of Trump’s classified records case just went from bad to horrible.
- Gustavo Arellano: I know who Trump should pick for VP — and she’s right here in O.C.
Today’s great reads
Mystery among the vines: Why is the FBI probing some of Napa Valley’s fanciest wineries? As the mystery swirls, one thing is clear: The federal probe comes amid a bitter divide among longtime vintners and residents over Napa Valley’s future.
Other great reads
- The first woman to run for president in years in Senegal is inspiring hope.
- Almost everyone in Hollywood wants to get back to work. What’s taking so long?
- This mega-city is running out of water. What will 22 million people do when the taps run dry?
How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@latimes.com.
For your downtime
Going out
- 💰Seventeen luxurious things to do in L.A. under $100.
- 🍽️ Dine at a table that moves you from room to room? A look at the future of theme parks.
- 🎥 Easing into a feral frenzy, Sydney Sweeney proves a hard habit to break in ‘Immaculate’ — in theaters Friday.
Staying in
- 📺 The creator of ‘Young Royals’ explains the finale and why it’s ‘beautiful for things to end.’
- 🧑🍳 Here’s a recipe for roasted chicken and bread (like a giant crouton) with fennel-arugula salad.
- ✏️ Get our free daily crossword puzzle, sudoku, word search and arcade games.
And finally ... from our archives
On March 21, 1963, Alcatraz prison, which held some of the most dangerous civilian prisoners — including Al Capone and Robert Stroud, the “Birdman of Alcatraz” — was closed.
“Known as ‘the Rock,’ the 12-acre penal island was notorious for its cramped cells and rigid discipline that at times demanded total silence,” former Times writer John Glionna wrote.
Decades after the prison closed, all that remains is the lore of the desperate men once locked up here.
Have a great day, from the Essential California team
Anthony De Leon, reporting fellow
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Stephanie Chavez, deputy metro editor
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