Follow-Up: Trump Calls Newsom's Death Row Commutations a 'Disaster for Justice in America,' Hopes Decision Is Overturned
President Donald Trump on November 14 criticized California Governor Gavin Newsom's decision to commute every death sentence in the state to life in prison without parole, calling it in a post on Truth Social "a disaster for Justice in America" and saying he hoped the decision would be overturned. It was Trump's first public comment on the commutations since Newsom announced them on November 5.
Using a derisive nickname for Newsom, Trump wrote that halting the death penalty for all of California's death row inmates, whom he called "some of the worst cold blooded murderers to have ever lived on the face of the Earth," benefited killers who "can't believe their luck in having a Governor so incompetent and insensitive that he would not let the long and winding legal system prevail." He added that "the family members of those who were so viciously killed are, rightfully, devastated," and closed the post: "Hopefully this decision will be overturned!"
Trump's post put the number of California death row inmates at 563, which differs from the figure given by the governor's office. When Newsom announced the move on November 5, the state figure was 548 people, the largest death row population in the United States. This report uses the state's official figure of 548 and notes the 563 figure as Trump's own.
Newsom announced on November 5 that he would commute all 548 California death sentences to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. The commutations do not overturn any conviction and do not release anyone. The governor's office has said the commutations take effect only after required legal steps are completed, and about 382 of them, involving people with multiple felony convictions, must be reviewed and approved by the California Supreme Court. California has not carried out an execution since 2006; Newsom imposed a moratorium in 2019 and closed the execution chamber at San Quentin. In the open letter announcing the commutations, Newsom said state-sanctioned killing is incompatible with California's values.
The commutations had already drawn a legal challenge in California before Trump's post. The Criminal Justice Legal Foundation announced on November 12 that it would challenge the governor's clemency action, with Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman and Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer among those publicly backing the challenge and planning filings with the California Supreme Court. Newsom's office had not publicly responded to Trump's post as of publication. (Source: Donald Trump, Truth Social post)
Source: Donald Trump (Truth Social
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：美国总统特朗普在白宫椭圆形办公室坚毅桌前办公（2025年8月18日）。白宫官方照片，公共领域，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: President Donald Trump works in the Oval Office at the Resolute desk on August 18, 2025. Official White House photo, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
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- 2026-11-14Follow-Up: Trump Calls Newsom's Death Row Commutations a 'Disaster for Justice in America,' Hopes Decision Is OverturnedThis story
