Transcript

LIVE: Newsom HOLD MAJOR PRESSER at BORDER!!!

From MeidasTouch · Episode page · Watch on YouTube

· 47 min · 6,629 words · 55 timestamped sections

This is the full, timestamped transcript of "LIVE: Newsom HOLD MAJOR PRESSER at BORDER!!!", an episode of MeidasTouch published February 2, 2026 (47 min, about 6,629 words). It mentions 15 people, works and ideas, including California, Governor Gavin Newsom, fentanyl, Matt Beavers, Shawn Dur.

What this episode is about

California officials announced significant progress in the fight against fentanyl trafficking at the southern border, highlighting over 34,000 pounds of fentanyl seized since 2021, with recent accomplishments including the seizure of 3,389 pounds of methamphetamine valued at nearly $30 million. The initiative, which involves extensive collaboration with law enforcement agencies and aims to disrupt drug and arms trafficking on both sides of the border, underscores California's commitment to public safety and drug interdiction efforts.

Key takeaways

  • California's fentanyl seizures surpass $500 million since 2021—proof that numbers can pack a punch.
  • CHP's crime suppression teams arrested 2,500, proving that teamwork is the ultimate crime-fighting strategy.
  • With 3,800 firearms recovered last year, California emphasizes that every gun off the streets counts.
  • General Beavers highlights that fentanyl's one lethal dose reality underscores the urgency of interdiction efforts.
  • Record-breaking K9 teams trained to detect fentanyl show that sometimes, furry friends are the best partners in crime.

Who speaks in this episode?

What is discussed, and when

  1. – 5:00: California, fentanyl, Matt Beavers, California Highway Patrol
  2. – 10:00: California, fentanyl, National Guard, Governor Gavin Newsom
  3. – 15:00: California, National Guard, fentanyl, California Highway Patrol
  4. – 20:00: California, Proposition 50
  5. – 25:00: California, National Guard
  6. – 30:00: California
  7. – 40:00: California
  8. – 45:00: California, National Guard

Notable quotes from "LIVE: Newsom HOLD MAJOR PRESSER at BORDER!!!"

  • Beavers. I'm the agitant general of California. And really today, what we're here to do is highlight a significant milestone in our team's efforts to interdict fentanyl along…
    about fentanyl · at
  • Just this past Thursday, just this past Thursday at the Otay Ma port of entry, our team supported seizure of, get this, 3,389 pounds of methamphetamines in one.
    about Otay Mesa · at
  • You couldn't ask for a better partner than General Beavers and the men and women, the soldiers standing behind us.
    about Matt Beavers · at
  • The efforts. First, let me talk just a little bit about crime suppression teams. Back in August, Governor Nuome announced the expansion of crime suppression teams. We first…
    about California Highway Patrol Crime Suppression Teams · at
  • With our local partners. there was a homicide in Hanford late last week. The suspects fled. CHP crime suppression team located the suspect in San Bernardino, arrested all three…
    about San Bernardino · at
  • Ways particularly with the crime suppression teams that the commissioner was just referencing. Since 2019, the state of California has invested an increment of $2.1 billion…
    about California · at
  • Things to come. I'll remind you, we were down at the democracy center in Little Tokyo. We were announcing the kickoff of a campaign that ultimately became Proposition 50. There…
    about Proposition 50 · at
  • That were expressed. public thoughts in that space as it relates to broader immigration issues. I'm mindful I'm in a region where this dynamic interdependence with Tijana in…
    about Tijuana · at

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

  • Governor Gavin Newsom — Person · Main speaker (referenced as governor) · 1 mention · first at
    Delivers the state’s framing, funding figures, and policy posture on fentanyl interdiction, crime suppression teams, and border/immigration-related enforcement impacts.
    Commissioner, thank you, Commissioner. Thank you, General. Thank you all of you for opportunity to update you and talk a little bit about what's happening not just bes behind the scenes but.
  • Matt Beavers — Person · Main speaker (operational lead on interdiction) · 2 mentions · first at
    Introduces the milestone results and operational scope of California’s counter-narcotics efforts, describing seizures, ports of entry coverage, and coordination with partners.
  • Shawn Dur — Person · Main speaker (CHP perspective) · 1 mention · first at
    Explains CHP’s role as a downstream/secondary line of defense, details crime suppression team expansion, arrests, gun recoveries, and K9 fentanyl detection training.
    I'm the commissioner of the California Highway Patrol. It is an honor to be here standing alongside the governor and general beavers. I've got to give a shout out to the general for not just.

Companies & orgs

  • National Guard — Company · Business focus · 8 mentions · first at
    Military force involved in drug interdiction and disaster response in California.
    Everybody knows that. We are proud to be partners and part of the solution. I look at it as the National Guard is that first line of defense. They're getting those big…
  • California Highway Patrol — Company · Business focus · 4 mentions · first at
    Key law enforcement agency involved in drug interdiction and crime suppression efforts in California.
    I'm the commissioner of the California Highway Patrol. It is an honor to be here standing alongside the governor and general beavers. I've got to give a shout out to the general for not just.

Concepts & topics

  • fentanyl — Concept · Core topic · 7 mentions · first at
    Central theme of the episode, discussing the interdiction and impact of fentanyl in California.
  • California Highway Patrol Crime Suppression Teams — Concept · Strategy · 4 mentions
    Specialized teams within the California Highway Patrol focused on crime suppression and drug interdiction.
  • Drug trafficking — Concept · Key argument · 3 mentions · first at
    Discussed as a major issue affecting California, with efforts to combat it through interdiction and law enforcement.
    General beavers. I've got to give a shout out to the general for not just our partnership in drug trafficking and interdiction, but our partnership in the natural disasters that we've had.

Places & events

  • California — Place · Setting · 22 mentions · first at
    Primary location discussed in the podcast, focusing on drug interdiction efforts and law enforcement activities.
  • San Bernardino — Place · Setting · 3 mentions · first at
    Mentioned as a location where crime suppression teams are active and where suspects were arrested.
  • Tijuana — Place · Setting · 2 mentions
    Mentioned in the context of cross-border activities and partnerships.
  • Otay Mesa — Place · Setting · 1 mention · first at
    Mentioned as a port of entry where a significant drug seizure occurred.
  • Bakersfield — Place · Setting · 1 mention · first at
    Mentioned as a location where crime suppression teams are active.
    And saw a lot of success with our crime suppression team up in the Bay Area, a little bit down in Bakersfield, San Bernardino. We expanded those. We included teams in…
  • Hanford — Place · Setting · 1 mention · first at
    Mentioned as a location where a homicide occurred and suspects were later arrested.
    Share with you just a recent example of how this is working as we coordinate with our local partners. there was a homicide in Hanford late last week. The suspects fled. CHP…
  • Proposition 50 — Event · Referenced event · 1 mention · first at
    Mentioned in the context of political activities and campaigns in California.

Full transcript with timestamps

So, good afternoon everybody. I appreciate uh you participating in our event today as well. And I am Matt Beavers. I'm the agitant general of California. And really today, what we're here to do is is highlight a significant milestone in our team's efforts to interdict fentanyl along our southern border with our partners in Mexico since 2021. Since 2021, our counter narcotics task force has supported seizures of fentanyl in excess of half a billion dollars. It's 34,000 pounds of fentanyl. And we do that across all four ports of entry along our southern border. But it's just not the ports of entry, the terrestrial ports of entry. It's LAX.

It's the port of Long Beach and the port of LA. And it's just not those POE's either. It's up and down and across the state. We support all four highintensity drug trafficking areas and we support also 122 agencies and task forces arrayed across our state to interdict fentanyl. Just this past Thursday, just this past Thursday at the Otay Ma port of entry, our team supported seizure of, get this, 3,389 pounds of methamphetamines in one seizure. It's almost $30 million of street value of that narcotic. And we continue to build out our capacity and our capability. While we're working very hard to interdict narcotics coming north, we'll work just as hard to interdict guns and money going south. To date, from October till now, we've received 3,05 firearms. 3005 firearms and $34 million $34 million in cash. And what does that mean for everybody? What it means is that my team enables sworn law

enforcement officers to get on the street and do the hard work that they have to do. It also enables Customs and Border Protection agents to be on the border where they belong. Want to turn this over now to Commissioner Duri. Sir,

thanks General. My name is Shawn Dur. I'm the commissioner of the California Highway Patrol. It is an honor to be here standing alongside the governor and general beavers. I've got to give a shout out to the general for not just our partnership in uh drug trafficking and interdiction, but our partnership in the natural disasters that we've had. You couldn't ask for a better partner than General Beavers and the men and women, the soldiers standing behind us. Uh California owes them a debt of gratitude. We've all seen the dangerous impacts that drugs, narcotics have on our communities. Drugs facilitate violence. Drugs threaten and increase public safety. Drugs devastate families.

Everybody knows that. We are proud to be partners and part of the solution. I look at it as the National Guard is that first line of defense. They're getting those big seizures. Those numbers the general uh citing for you are enormous drug seizures. The highway patrol is that second line of defense or in many ways the last line of defense before those narcotics enter our communities. I am proud of the work that the men and women of the highway patrol are doing in this space and happy to report some of the efforts. First, let me talk just a little bit about crime suppression teams. Back in August, Governor Nuome announced the expansion of crime suppression teams. We first started out and saw a lot of success with our crime suppression team up in the Bay Area, a little bit down in Bakersfield, San Bernardino. We expanded those. We included teams in Sacramento region, down the Central Valley, in the Inland

Empire, Los Angeles County, and here in San Diego. Those crime suppression teams were up and working in September. All teams have been going. And I'm proud just to site some site uh some statistics for you. the first four months of operation, 2500 arrest. About a third of those were felony arrest. They recovered 460 stolen stolen vehicles, seized 90 crime guns, and more than 2400 lb of illegal narcotics. I'll share with you just a recent example of how this is working as we coordinate with our local partners. Uh there was a homicide in Hanford late last week. The suspects fled. CHP crime suppression team located the suspect in San Bernardino, arrested all three suspects, and recovered the crime gun. That's one example of how the CHP crime suppression teams are working alongside our local partners. And I have to tell you, we have the best local partners here in California. I'm proud to work alongside

the 58 sheriffs and the chiefs of police that make up California. It's not just these crime suppression teams. We're leveraging every CHP officer throughout the state. We had a record year last year filling the academy, filling vacancies. We're graduating 130 new officers this Friday. We're proud of that. We're proud that they're men and women that want to join the highway patrol and go out and join us in this effort. We challenged them, every one of them, to look past that contact, look towards criminal indicators. We're training every one of them in drug seizures, gun seizures, human trafficking, and the numbers speak for themselves. Last year, the CHP had a record year, recovered 3,800 firearms.

The highest year to date was 2500 firearms, and those are illegally owned or crime guns. In addition to that, we have, especially when it pertains to narcotics, we have our K9 teams. We have one of the largest K-9 forces in the country. Many of them trained in narcotics detection. We recently trained all those dogs, imprinted them with the ability to detect fentinol, which adds to the number of illicit drugs that these dogs are able to detect. I know that General and I thrown a lot of numbers at you already. I I want to be clear, tens of thousands of pounds. It takes one dose to be deadly. It takes one crime gun off the streets to make a difference. And the the praise goes to the men and women that are standing behind us, the ones that dawn the uniform. They go out day in and day out and they do this important work and to leadership. And it's my privilege at this point to introduce the man that's

been behind the coordinating effort of this, the governor of the great state of California, Governor Gavin Newsome.

Commissioner, thank you, Commissioner. Thank you, General. Thank you all of you for opportunity to update you and um and talk a little bit about what's happening um not just bes behind the scenes but increasingly uh in uh more uh public ways particularly with the crime suppression teams that the commissioner was just referencing. Since 2019, the state of California has invested uh an increment of $2.1 billion dollars uh of uh additional resources to focus on interdiction drug uh efforts as well as prosecutions and investigations throughout the state of California. uh many different programs we've announced along the way, including supporting 55 LEAs, local law enforcement agencies with vertical prosecution grants uh and grants to provide them flexibility at the local level, $267 million. in fact uh just over the last few years to advance those efforts to build partnerships to build capacity uh and to

build out a framework to get more aggressive as it relates to our crime suppression investigation and prosecution efforts in the state. Uh but one of our areas of stated focus was on the issue of fentanyl and that goes back to 2019 as well. I had the privilege of working with the general and others uh to advance a number of these task forces uh back in 2019 to take them to another level in 2021 and to advance them further in 2024. uh some 300 now in 92 National Guard men and women are are working proactively supported by state general fund support uh unprecedented support uh to advance our transnational uh drug efforts to focus on interdiction uh and to develop a more rational approach to addressing uh the issue of fentanyl. Uh as the general rightfully said uh some 50.6 6 million pills now have been seized. A total street value of $56 million. Close to half a billion dollar. 34,000 pounds. 34,357

pounds to be exact. Uh has been seized since these operations. A milestone that we thought was important to share. half a billion dollars, 34,000 pounds that have been seized since these operations uh were advanced. We're involved, as General said, in 122 different task forces throughout the state of California. I often say, of the California Highway Patrol and the National Guard, they're like Swiss Army knives, uh doing so many things beyond which you typically would expect them to do. Uh we're proud of those efforts.

were proud of those partnerships, but none more proud than as the commissioner advanced uh the efforts to integrate uh what the general's doing and what the California Highway Patrol themselves have been doing. U the commissioner mentioned in number of years back uh we initiated the first uh suppression teams in San Francisco. It was also a fentinel operation in partnership with the National Guard. In fact, we embedded JAGs in the district attorney's office that are still there today uh advancing some of our investigations in partnership with the Department of Justice, in partnership uh with uh federal uh agencies, in partnership obviously with the District Attorney's Office uh and the California Highway Patrol. That first effort within a matter of months uh was able to see 700 pounds of fentanyl. Within the first year over 500 arrests were connected with those CHP operations and those operations in partnership with the

Guard. As a consequence of that, we advanced those efforts into Oakland and then we scaled those efforts into Southern California and parts of San Bernardino. Uh you heard uh the commissioner talk about some of the other areas uh that we've advanced those partnerships. Now throughout the state of California, uh these crime suppression teams have proven to be wildly successful in terms of aiding, embedding, and supporting uh local law enforcement agencies and other federal partners. So it's all about partnership. It's all about capacity. We're producing real results. Uh these numbers speak for themselves. Um the mitigation in terms of the lives lost is you know outsized.

That goes without saying. Uh but significant advancements and I just want to express gratitude, appreciation for all the men and women in uniform behind me uh for their resourcefulness uh to the members of the legislature for providing the resources in this space. Uh and we want to continue to make the case this is what the National Guard should be doing. This the kind of partnerships that make sense. Uh, and I'll close on that. Uh, we were very proud in 2019 to support our border patrol as it relates to efforts to relieve Border Patrol from doing a lot of this work so that they can have the opportunity to do the work that they're hired to do. Uh, and these efforts have strengthened those partnerships and have allowed us a lot of information sharing and a lot of advancement in terms of our larger counternarcotics efforts. Uh it's the kind of thing that we should be doing more of. It's not pining. It's not

about politics. It's not about creating anxiety and fear. It's it's, you know, not about showboating. It's about real work. Uh and that's the kind uh of work that uh we we're prideful of and it's kind of the work we continue uh to advance here in the state of California. So, that's a a brief overview and again, gratitude uh to all of the professionalism and all of the outstanding work that's being done throughout the state of California. With that, we're happy to take any questions.

Well, he hasn't left the state. And I'll remind you, it all happened here first. And we didn't wait till the inauguration. Uh we saw during the transition a gentleman by the name of Bovino uh who was in parts of Central Valley um beginning the process to exercise his unique uh approach uh to lawlessness. He's been it's been litigated. He lost uh in an early uh earlier court decision. It's been showcased now across the United States. Uh but he did that during the transition. We saw what happened here in San Diego. The first raids on a restaurant where you saw uh a lot of crowd control and suppression techniques was a Friday night uh restaurants that were raided here in LA. Of course, we saw the federalization of the National Guard.

Hundreds of millions of dollars wasted of taxpayer hundreds of millions of dollars wasted of taxpayer money. We saw 700 active duty Marines uh that were not sent overseas were sent to the l second largest city in the United States, Los Angeles. Uh we saw thousands of National Guard men and women, by the way, who are police officers in their own right, firefighters, um nurses, doctors, um caregivers, uh that were sent to the armory, they had no particular purpose. They were there for purely political purposes. Um and we saw them paraded around. We saw Bo move to other states. We said at the time, uh that was a preview of things to come. I'll remind you, we were down at the democracy center in Little Tokyo. We were announcing the kickoff of a campaign that ultimately became Proposition 50. There was a guy in masked a mass along with others. Greg Bovino was out there trying to intimidate people from walking in. We

said that was a preview of things to come as well. And so he's sent back to California. Um, we're hardly celebrating that. This is a guy who literally goes on eBay and tries to find 1930s outfits and he's exposed himself even to Donald Trump who basically fired him. They had to send him back home because of his abuse and the lawlessness that he perpetuated and the gross incompetence to which he was doing his job. I'm shocked he still has his job. Though I'm also shocked Christine Gnome still has her job, though she seems to have been pushed aside as well. Tom Hman, ironically now the adult in the room, has been sent to Minneapolis.

But no, to your question, and forgive the long-windedness, I just wanted to contextualize it and remind people of where we've been here in California because this is the origin story of Trump 2.0. Um, they're still out there actively. Um, they're still out there actively terrorizing diverse communities. And I don't use that word lightly. I just left the border. I just left a community meeting. I just left meeting people representing all our diverse communities, many diverse communities in the state of California, giving me chapter inverse about how ICE is still conducting operations around schools. chapter and verse around how the community and nonprofits have to go in because they take leaders of a household and now they're got children that are running the household that don't even have power of attorney, don't even know how to pay rent, providing grants so they don't lose their homes.

Was hearing chapter and verse uh around the abuse people have received abuse coming in many different forms. uh American cities disappearing and then being told they're on their own, their cell phone gone, their ID gone, and they have no recourse, no money to get back from where they have been shipped off. They just have to find their way back home. That's one type of abuse. The other kind of abuse, coming back with bruises, with no recourse, no capacity for justice. The abuse that is the trauma that a young kid feels when the gun is put to their head. You saw that example up in LA. Again, it was one of the first examples uh about a year ago. Disabled kid waiting for his sister to come across the street from school and they put a gun to the head of a disabled boy.

The trauma that is permanent that is being perpetuated by the lawlessness of this administration. It's still happening all across this country, including here in California. It never disappeared. If you think I'm overstating it, 1500% increase in the number of arrests. Cal Matters just came out with this new report versus the year prior. All happening, but without the fanfare of what you're seeing in your living room and on your screen happening in places like Minneapolis. So, forgive me, but you can't spend time with real people and not feel their pain and not feel that trauma. Donald Trump doesn't understand that. He's never done that.

He's never sat down with these folks. The recklessness, the impact across the spectrum, people that are scared. We talked to a community leader who literally sits on a board, thank God, a member of the board is a doctor because they couldn't convince a young woman here legally to go to the doctor. She had a medical condition. She was so scared of being racially profiled on her way to the doctor. She refused to go to the doctor and they were giving me an example telling me that story. I can give you story after story and this was only an hour and a half meeting. Dozens and dozens of examples. That's just here in your backyard in Chula Vista.

Imagine what's going on across the rest of the United States. So, um, this has just got to end. Yeah, of course. I mean, Greg Bavino is a the guy's pathetic. He's a pathetic individual. He's broken person. Cosplay, haircuts, the garb. Give me a break. It's 1930s all over again. How is anyone? How is this not how every night you should be running reports on this? The music in the recruitment ads, HH in their ads, all the propaganda coming from Christine Gnomes, DHS, how they're recruiting folks. The way this guy's This is serious.

That's Greg Bevino leading the charge. Even Donald Trump said, "Maybe this is too much." But he didn't fire him. He just sent him back to where he came from. So yes, I'm concerned. You think he's reformed or changed?

Well, we've had a great relationship and and let me highlight that relationship. General could talk a little bit more about it. In fact, just this week, last week that is, we uh had members of the Mexican military, the National Guard in Sacramento doing joint training exercise with our National Guard men and women. We just announced last fall, a new partnership with the Mexican government as it relates to advancing these efforts. One of those efforts, by the way, we were here, seems almost yesterday, but it was about a year ago, we were at the border with some of you.

Um, I just gone through some of the tunnels talking about not just what's coming north of the border, but what's going south of the border as it relates to guns and new joint efforts between our respective countries, particularly with our guard to address some of those crossber efforts. So, we've developed very strong partnerships. I'm very proud of that. And we were able to update those partnerships, formalize them at scale last fall uh with a memorandum of understanding between our respective state and the federal government uh in Mexico uh to continue the joint intelligence sharing to continue the partnership and continue our efforts on both sides of the border to address that cross flow north and south.

Yeah, it's been I I appreciate it's been some time. In fact, last time it was I seems now about six or so months ago talking to Senator Padilla a little bit about Friendship Park. So, I don't have any updates for you, but happy to provide that uh shortly. appreciate

harassment in in detention centers or oh well I speaking members of Somali community a moment ago hearing it very specifically um now I don't I don't want to parrot the language that was shared because I don't have the benefit of objective facts I just have the benefit of the perspective of the community um I'll share that perspective uh feeling under siege uh of feeling that there's no accountability for what they feel is vigilanteism people that are not identifying themselves that are not held to any account. They don't know if they're legitimate agencies, law enforcement or illegitimate, just someone trying to play a role. They don't fully understand what their rights are and they're not fully convinced that the reason they wanted to meet with me that the state and local government is doing enough for them. So that was expressed very intimately to me around specific examples down here in Southern

California. And I'll be following up with many, many pages of notes uh with those specific concerns uh with my team when I get back to Sacramento. Well, this is the same president who said he eliminated all the federal permits, and you know better than anyone which ones they don't exist. He lied about that. He made it up. He said he was going to wave um and address the state permits. We we had already done that through myriad of executive orders, well discussed and written about. Ah, it's all just made up. And now he has a new executive order that goes in effect when we don't know.

Uh is it legal? Almost assuredly not. Uh that does something. But no, he hasn't coordinated or connected with anyone to tell him it. It's just typical Trump. Uh trying to forgive me, it's a French phrase, piss on the grasshoppers to hear them sing. And by the way, Justin, forgive me. We are fully focused on fasttracking the permit process in Southern California. As of last week, there were 2,981 permits that were out. There's over a thousand homes that are under construction. There's a dozen plus that have been reoccupied uh in the region a little over a year uh after uh this tragedy. We had the fastest debris removal in American history in partnership with the federal government.

And I want to acknowledge that. And I want to also acknowledge the partnership that was originally advanced by the Biden administration that allowed that framework of engagement. Uh but there was no politics played in that first six months. Unfortunately, we are falling prey once again to the kind of politicalization with this administration. Um if there is something more we can do on permits, we will do it at the state level. That's why I've signed so many executive orders. That's why we've worked with uh our local uh partners that are responsible at the county and city level for local permits to supplement their workforce and staff.

We also provided them resources uh to provide uh new technology artificial intelligence archistar to fasttrack some of the pre uh uh pre uh planning and pre pre uh plan check approval. In addition to that, we are waiting for the president of the United States to have the courtesy of simply submitting to Congress a $33.9 billion request for disaster aid. The biggest impediment, the biggest impediment to people getting their lives back together is addressing the gaps between their insurance coverage and the cost of new construction, which by the way has increased because of tariffs and increase because of the na mass deportation and labor shortages. Two things that Donald Trump can actually address very quickly. And we encourage them to address those two issues, which would help with the permitting, which would help with people being more likely to move forward to want to get a permit because they can afford with disaster

relief and support and aid from the federal government the opportunity to get their lives back uh online. That's about partnership. And that's been for me an open hand, not a close fist with the Trump administration. Uh for well over a year I visited with Donald Trump in person at the Oval Office on this topic. Uh we've tried to work uh uh with members of Congress, Republicans and Democrats. There's been no politics in Congress. I mean I was at Doug Lamalfa's funeral just two weeks ago with Speaker Johnson. Lamalfa was a champion for uh our disaster aid. fierce conservative, big supporter of the president's um and uh was there out of respect uh for his advocacy as as a human being uh not only for his district but also that he had the back of Angelinos, not in his district. He's up there far in Northern California, but he had their back for the American people. It's the spirit of Lalfa that I'd like to see

represented uh in the president of the United States. I wish he would act like the president of the United States. And uh and his stated desire is my stated desire to move this recovery forward expeditiously, but he's not doing it in a sincere way. He's doing it as he often does uh in a very chaotic way and he's not doing it in a way that actually can solve the problems and actually help the American people who happen to live in the state of California get their lives back together. Sorry ma'am.

My message is the one I share very publicly. It's where I share privately. We have their back and we're going to keep coming back. We're going to make the case that they matter and we care. um that um we admire their fortitude, their resilience, uh their contributions to our city, our state and our nation. Um that we are the most diverse state in the world's most diverse democracy that the world looks to us, I believe, to see that we can live and advance together across our differences. 27% of this state is foreignb born. Uh so our state of mind is very different than the president's and uh and we celebrate those contributions. We don't tolerate them and we sure as hell uh don't look past people or down people. We're committed to working with this administration to go after dangerous criminals.

That's not what this is about. We're committed to work with this administration uh to address legitimate public safety concerns. Um, but that's not again what this is about. This is about terrorizing community. It's about chaos. It's about fear. And it's about all the ancillary impacts of that. And they know exactly what they're doing. And those impacts are real. And they're traumatizing for legal residents of this state, for American citizens, not just people here that have been here 20 years in a mixed status family contributing to the vibrancy of the state. We met with business leaders that are being impacted by what's going on, the economy being impacted by what's going on. So, um, all these things are well known, but what's not well known are these individual stories. And, uh, I just don't know how you can be a human being and and feel any sense of pride or patriotism with an angelic boy who's 5 years old that was

sent to a detention center down in Texas. What pride or patriotism do you feel in that? That's Donald Trump's America right now. And so we all have a responsibility to stand up. And so I told the folks in that community meeting that I have their back and I mean that. And when I say we're coming back, we'll be back every single day to defend our values in this historic project that our founding fathers established some 250 years ago. We believe in the rule of law. He does not. And the one thing that every single story had in common is the rule of dawn, not the rule of lawn.

Well, as you know, we've been down on half dozen of occasions. I've been on both sides of the border meeting with the um the governor down uh on the other side of the border. Uh we've had many, many events. We procured, as you recall, or rather received from the federal former administration $453 million. It'sn't prepared for this question, but I remember that number. $453 million from uh the Biden administration. I was encouraged candidly by some early comments from representatives of the Trump administration uh that they would continue to build on that work. Um and I hope they are sincere to that task. Uh we recognize the seriousness of those issues, beach issues, recognize all of that well established. Uh and the state is doing everything in its power working in partnership with Senator Schiff and Padilla, our congressional delegation uh to make sure that the federal government's role and their

responsibility in this effort that folks here uh can rest assured that there's no politics being played. And that's again my commitment, encouraged by what the Trump administration has said, grateful for why what the Biden administration eventually did in the last 18 or so months the administration. Mindful that could have come sooner. I acknowledge that uh and hopeful that we can build back uh that partnership and and build off uh that earlier or that earlier success we started to see building uh around this time last year.

I mean, you should I think I'm responding to your own reporting. Yeah, that's right.

That's why I was meeting with the community. Uh we as you know have a wellestablished system of legal aid, legal support. I did a special session, you may recall u last, not this December, December prior. Uh in that special session, we not only fortified our litigation posture in anticipation of the assault uh on many of our programs and federally funded support uh but also provided resources, tens of millions of dollars uh for a lot of our community based organizations uh throughout the region. And so we we're checking back in on the distribution of those funds, the legal aid being among many component parts of that. Uh these hubs are established to provide all kinds of counseling, mental health support. I gave you an example of some a specific example of someone they were providing uh support for with cash grants so they could pay their rent because uh their father uh has disappeared and there was no one else uh

in the family that would take care of the household expenses. Those are all component parts of statef funded programs in partnership with fill-in-theblank Jewish family services, Catholic Charities, many faith-based services uh that uh we're knitting together. So that's uh that's that was one of the stated purposes of meeting uh the meeting I just had down here and what more we can be doing.

Well, we have a wellestablished opposition to offshore oil drilling in the state of California. I find it ironic and interesting. So does the governor of Florida. When Donald Trump advocates for offshore drilling off the coast of Mara Lago, I'll know the sincerity of these efforts. I find it interesting he has not been proactive in that respect. He's been rhetorical. But I share Ronda Santis's point of view about offshore oil drilling in his state. We share that in our state. I do that as a for instance a bit of the hypocrisy in this space. It's interesting he's also opposed to fracking in his state. That same Republican governor. Um the Sable has a different set of criteria and I'm cautious there's a lot of litigation in this space. Uh there's a myriad of federal state foreign marshall state lands state park relationship to that pipeline legislation that I signed last year that was advanced by the legislature. uh new

requirements transparency um for Sable. So that's a separate topic. But our larger um perspective was not only shared by the prior two administrations, but two other governors on the West Coast who signed a joint letter with me last week. Governor uh Ferguson uh and Governor Cotek uh of Oregon and Washington that signed a joint letter and expressing their opposition, collective opposition in the western United States on the West Coast against offshore oil drilling. So we reinforced uh that framework and uh we'll continue uh to advance policy that's been well established in the state for decades now.

Well, I'm I'm mindful that they have a lot of hurdles that they can't just they they're asserting certain rights, expressing certain privileges under federal law. There are a lot of other issues that they likely will confront. Again, mindful of the litigation posture. Uh those are laid out uh in my comments around state agencies. I was being specific in those three instances and cases and obviously the legislation that the legislature uh got to my desk last year that I signed. But they are being as creative as you could imagine Chris Wright uh to be and are asserting uh rights that uh will certainly be challenged and u and we'll see where that process unfolds uh as they actually make decisions, not just make announcements.

Oh sorry. We've been working actively. Um, we had, as you know, a few weeks ago news on Valero as it relates to being an import terminal. uh under our legislation, it was last April, uh that we were afforded under legislation that I signed through a special session uh the ability to get a year look into the future in anticipation uh of the closure of Valero. And that has given us an opportunity over this last year to engage them directly uh and to work with other refiners uh and come up with a myriad of strategies and solutions. uh and we have been working in good faith with them for some time.

The announcement they made just a few weeks ago is an example of that. Uh I put the head of my um my well put a task force together with members of uh the California Energy Commission SA whose point on all this and uh we're a few weeks away from making subsequent announcements. uh but we've been very aggressive and very mindful of what's happening not only in this state to refineries but what's happening all across the United States to refineries for that matter around the rest of the world. I think a lot of what happened in Venezuela without going down a rabbit hole um is reflected in what's happening with refineries um and uh and it's not lost on me that one of the largest refineries in the United States in Texas shut down a couple of years ago as well.

Uh so we are being creative and uh and we look forward to making an announcement in the next few weeks uh adding to the announcement that Valero made independent of us just a few weeks ago as it relates to our import strategy.

Oh just one I promise impossible to hear you, but I but I picked up on a little bit of that. Forgive the planes in the background. Um, look, I I I mentioned values and and I think, you know, I I I gave a state of the state a few weeks ago and talked about California values, things we hold dear, and it's it's upholding those values. That's the spirit I think of your question if I if I heard it. As it relates to broader issues of immigration, um we have very strong opinions on border security. It's why we sent the National Guard to the border.

Um my opinion was a little different than the prior administrations on border security. And that's not an indictment, but it's a reflection of very public actions, not just private thoughts uh that were expressed. public thoughts uh in that space as it relates to broader immigration issues. I'm mindful I'm in a region where this this dynamic interdependence with Tijana um in this crossber activity that is celebrated here in a bipartisan way. I've been on many times the other side of the border with Republican leaders from s from San Diego, from the Chamber of Commerce, other organizations celebrating the fact that we have one of the most dynamic borders in the Western Hemisphere, one of the busiest borders in the Western Hemisphere. It paints a different picture of border activity and immigration more broadly. And I think in the spirit of the next year is we need to do that. We need to do a better job

at developing a different framework, a different narrative around immigration. The border is one thing. It's tied to immigration, but it's not the immigration story. Border is one thing. Broader issue of immigration needs to radically be reformed. And that should be universally obvious to anybody. The asylum system needs to be reformed. We need to address the backlogs. We need to address people been here 10, 15, 20 years that are working here legally. all the mixed status families. We need to address the anxiety of a workforce needs uh for folks in Central Valley and Silicon Valley. All of those things should be front and center in our conversation and debate around immigration. But unfortunately, it's not because it's been bastardized by Greg Beavino, by Steven Miller, the architect of all of this.

And it's servicing no one. It's wrecking the economy. It's impacting public safety at large. Final point, and this came up in our conversation an hour ago, how people are not cooperating with local law enforcement now because they increasingly don't trust local law enforcement. I mean, how the hell did that happen? Because of Donald Trump. So, this is a public safety issue broadly and that's how abjectly ruinous this administration's been on this policy. And that's why people are outraged. American citizens gunned down and killed in American cities. The militarization of American cities.

I mean, I I was over in Europe. They can't believe what they're seeing. This is not the United States of America. I was just back east. I was in Wisconsin. I was there. I mean, what how people are feeling about this country right now. So, you know, yeah, the president of United States had, you know, decided to spend time last night not focusing on the cost of, you know, beef or coffee, which are through the roof since he's been president, but on whether or not he's going to give it to Treasure Trevor Noah. I'm gonna have fun with you. He said, the president of United States saying, I'm going to have fun with you.

The president of the United States going after his enemies. Not debating his enemies. That's what they do in Hungary. That's what they do in Russia. So, you're in the center of it down here. hasn't gone away to your point and it started here and so I have a year left in the spirit of your question and um I'm not going to give up or give in over the course of the next year and uh and as I said to the community I'll say more broadly to 40 million Americans live in my home state we'll have their back and we'll continue to be back uh until the last hours of this administration. Thank you guys very very much.

Questions about this episode

Who speaks in "LIVE: Newsom HOLD MAJOR PRESSER at BORDER!!!"?

Matt Beavers (Host), Shawn Dur (Guest), Gavin Newsom (Guest).

What is "LIVE: Newsom HOLD MAJOR PRESSER at BORDER!!!" about?

California officials announced significant progress in the fight against fentanyl trafficking at the southern border, highlighting over 34,000 pounds of fentanyl seized since 2021, with recent accomplishments including the seizure of 3,389 pounds of methamphetamine valued at nearly $30 million. The initiative, which involves extensive collaboration with law enforcement agencies and aims to…

What is mentioned in this MeidasTouch episode?

15 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including California, Governor Gavin Newsom, fentanyl, Matt Beavers, Shawn Dur, National Guard. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "LIVE: Newsom HOLD MAJOR PRESSER at BORDER!!!"?

The episode runs 47 min; the transcript is about 6,629 words in 55 timestamped sections.

More from MeidasTouch

About this transcript: the episode's spoken words as captioned on YouTube, split into timestamped sections. Reclip.Me locates every person, work and idea in the text, keeps the time it is first named, and quotes the words around it verbatim. Last updated February 3, 2026.