Trump Goes After Newsom's Wife? Unsurprising, But Also A New Level Of Authoritarianism

The Trump Department of Justice going aft group who make nan president huffy aliases moreover sad is thing new, successful this vulnerable property erstwhile nan presidency is progressively astir placating nan desires of nan aged man successful nan Oval Office.

Leticia James, James Comey, Adam Schiff. Most recently, E. Jean Carroll, who sued President Trump personally and won a immense colony connected her declare that he sexually assaulted her. Now, nan Department of Justice is investigating her for imaginable perjury.

It would beryllium easy to deliberation of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s announcement Monday that nan U.S. Department of Justice is now targeting his wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, arsenic conscionable different summation to that list.

But this onslaught connected Siebel Newsom (alleged attack, anyhow — nan Department of Justice has not confirmed she is simply a target) is thing overmuch darker successful our descent into authoritarianism. While nan specifications of what is being investigated are murky and nan president hasn’t chimed successful yet, it has each nan appearances of nan Trump management seeking to extremity a governmental rival who has a existent changeable astatine knocking MAGA retired of nan apical office.

“It’s not conscionable random aliases accidental that nan woman of a awesome statesmanlike campaigner is being investigated,” Steven Levitsky, a professor of authorities astatine Harvard University, told maine Monday. “That’s nan quality of selective prosecution and that is simply a pillar of authoritarian rule.”

Levitsky is an master connected authoritarian regimes, and really they return and support power. His constituent that Newsom is simply a viable challenger whitethorn look evident — Newsom himself is already fundraising disconnected of it. But this peculiar alleged investigation bears a infinitesimal of region because it is not nan regular diminution of justness we person been witnessing to this moment.

“This is different,” he said. “This is forward-looking persecution.”

Until now, Levistky points out, Trump has screamed and hollered for nan prosecution of those who person wronged him successful nan past, sometimes moreover nan distant past. Yes, he’s disgraced nan Department of Justice pinch nan request it usability arsenic his ain individual hammer of retribution, moreover putting his ain individual attorney, Todd Blanche, successful complaint erstwhile Pam Bondi wasn’t accommodating aliases successful capable astatine stomping perceived enemies and quashing nan Epstein files.

But those prosecutions person mostly been grievance-based, not aimed astatine keeping power.

Going aft Siebel Newsom seems much for illustration a forward-looking, preemptive onslaught targeting Newsom up of nan 2028 predetermination done each decent man’s Achilles’ heel, his family.

In fact, nan right-wing media — which is intimately tied to nan whims of nan White House — has been targeting Siebel Newsom for months.

In particular, Siebel Newsom has been attacked for her activity arsenic a documentary filmmaker who focuses connected female empowerment and parsing really and why we person nan gender norms that we do erstwhile it comes to masculinity and femininity. I’ll fto you fig retired really celebrated that is successful MAGA world, wherever existent women make sandwiches.

Conservative commentator Sean Hannity has gone aft Siebel Newsom for saying she sometimes changes nan gender of a book’s characteristic from “he” to “she” erstwhile she’s reference to her children. Fox News has attacked her for daring to springiness her boys dolls to play with, starring immoderate MAGA influencers to explanation her “psychotic” aliases “abusive.” Right-wing icon Megyn Kelly called her a “nutcase” for sharing nan tragic communicative of her sister’s decease erstwhile Siebel Newsom was 6.

And different media person focused connected nan truth that immoderate of nan films she has been progressive pinch person been approved for usage successful California schools, starring to conspiracies that Newsom utilized his power to unit his wife’s “woke” schedule connected kids, by which we are apparently talking astir nan wide plagues of decency and inclusion.

Newsom’s agency said that successful caller weeks, family, friends and business associates of nan family person been contacted by investigators from nan FBI and IRS. Siebel Newsom besides does activity astir online information for children, but it seems apt that immoderate attraction would attraction connected these films, and related nonprofits, and nan perennially celebrated MAGA boogeyman of schools forcing ideologies connected kids. Throw successful Siebel Newsom’s institution making moreover a dollar, and nan measurement nan IRS tin find problems pinch immoderate taxation return, and you’ve sewage astir 10,000 hours of right-wing propaganda.

So whether nan unit to target Siebel Newsom came from nan White House aliases not, Newsom’s announcement raises nan troubling specter that this management is getting much superior astir remaining successful power by kneecapping imaginable replacements earlier they turn excessively strong.

In his Monday video, Newsom urged Trump pinch mano a mano bravado to travel aft him arsenic overmuch arsenic he wanted, but to time off his woman and family retired of it. But I would not underestimate Siebel Newsom, who showed her spot erstwhile she testified against disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein, laying retired publically a private, achy tale.

Siebel Newsom’s agency told maine she’s good being portion of immoderate conflict against Trump.

“There are intelligibly nary boundaries to what Donald Trump will do to get his measurement aliases to situation those who get successful his way,” Siebel Newsom said successful a statement.

The “governor and I will proceed to speak truth to powerfulness because nan American group merit truthful overmuch more.”

By coming retired successful beforehand of immoderate charismatic announcement of an investigation by nan Department of Justice, Siebel Newsom and her hubby whitethorn beryllium capable to return power of nan narrative, thing Trump detests.

That pushback, Levitsky said, is critical, not conscionable for them, but much importantly for each of us. After past year, erstwhile truthful galore institutions and individuals crumbled successful nan look of Trump’s power, nan spot of our populist progressively depends connected those pinch governmental superior opinionated up to him.

Coming retired punching first does conscionable that.