The White House slammed Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom  as an «inauthentic slimeball» after he attempted to walk back his staff’s description of an ICE officer-involved shooting as «state-sponsored terrorism.»

«Newscum is an inauthentic slimeball who has no principles — he simply says whatever he thinks he needs to, in the moment, to get attention,» White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told Fox Digital on Friday. 

«He’s happy to smear ICE officers and incite violence against them when he thinks it will score points with his radical left base, but as soon as he’s pressed on his dangerous claims he throws his staffers under the bus and tries to distance himself from the content they put out under his name. Newscum will never be ready for primetime,» she added. 

Jackson was responding to Newsom’s comments on his podcast published Thursday, when he walked back his office’s message on X following an ICE-involved fatal shooting of Renee Good in Minneapolis on Jan. 7 was «STATE. SPONSORED. TERRORISM.» 

NEWSOM RETREATS AFTER SHAPIRO PUTS HIM ON THE SPOT OVER CHILLING ICE TERRORISM CLAIM

Federal authorities and the administration said the ICE officer had opened fire on Good after she had allegedly used her vehicle as a weapon against the agent. Democrats have described the death as a «murder» and amplified criticisms of federal law enforcement officers in the days following. 

Newsom was joined on the podcast by conservative commentator Ben Shapiro, who pressed him about his office’s message linking ICE to terrorists. 

«And then your press office tweeted out that it was state-sponsored terrorism, which I mean, governor, I do have to ask you about that,» Shapiro said on the podcast, «This is Gavin Newsom.» «That sort of thing makes our politics worse. Yeah, I mean, it does. I mean, our ICE officers obviously are not terrorists. A tragic situation is not state-sponsored terrorism.»

Newsom responded: «Yeah, I think that’s fair.»

President Donald Trump held an address from the White House Dec. 17, 2025. (Andrew Harnick/Getty Images)

Newsom continued during their conversation that he has bucked Democrat colleagues’ calls to «defund ICE» while adding his state cooperates with federal immigration officers. 

DEMOCRATS WORRY ‘ABOLISH ICE’ SLOGAN WILL BACKFIRE POLITICALLY LIKE ‘DEFUND THE POLICE’ DID

«I disagreed when I think a candidate for president by the name of Harris said that in the last campaign. I remember being on [MSNBC show hosted by] Chris Hayes hours later saying, ‘I think that’s a mistake.’ So absolutely,» Newsom said. Former Vice President Kamala Harris called for «a complete overhaul of the agency, mission, culture, operations» of ICE back in 2018. 

President Donald Trump has for years slammed Newsom’s immigration policies, arguing the sanctuary state weakens border enforcement, protects illegal immigrants, and puts public safety at risk. 

The Democratic governor defended his state’s policies by saying that California allegedly cooperates with ICE, and that his state’s sanctuary policies would be «unnecessary» if the U.S. had «comprehensive immigration reform.»

«We work very directly with ICE as it relates to [California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation] state prison,» Newsom said on the podcast. «California has cooperated with more ICE transfers probably than any other state in the country. And I vetoed multiple pieces of legislation that have come from my legislature to stop the ability for the state of California to do that.»

TRUMP ADMIN WARNS OF ‘WIDESCALE DOXXING’ OF ICE IF HOUSE DEM’S NEW BILL PASSES

«TRUMP IS TRYING TO CANCEL THE GOVERNOR – VERY WOKE!» Newsom spokesperson Diana Crofts-Pelayo responded to Fox Digital in an email Friday when approached for comment. 

«EVERYDAY AMERICANS ARE EXPERIENCING STATE SPONSORED TERROR BY OUR INCOMPETENT PRESIDENT. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER!»

Newsom’s office added on X that the governor supports removing «child molesters, rapists and violent criminals» from California but opposes what they called federal «masked agents» sweeping up innocent people, urging an immediate halt to such roundups and calling for federal reform to protect immigrants and U.S. citizens.

In the wake of Good’s death, chaos has broken out in Minneapolis, including on Wednesday, as agitators clashed with law enforcement officials after the second ICE-involved shooting in the city. 

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt pinned blame on Democrats and their rhetoric for heightened threats against federal immigration law enforcement officers. 

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks during a news briefing in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House on January 15, 2026, in Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

«The Democrat Party has demeaned these individuals,» Leavitt said Thursday of federal immigration officers. «They’ve even referred to them as ‘Nazis’ and as ‘the Gestapo.’ And that is absolutely leading to the violence we’re seeing in the streets.

«If you look at some of the images out of Minneapolis last night, look at this vehicle, look at what it says,» Leavitt added. «It says, ‘F ICE.’ You have these individuals who are putting their middle finger, proudly so, at the camera, another ICE individual, a vehicle that was vandalized last night by these left-wing agitators.»

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The Department of Homeland Security reported in December that assaults and violent attacks against ICE law enforcement officers have surged more than 1,150% compared to attacks under the Biden administration. It found there were 238 assaults on ICE officers between Jan. 21, 2025 to Nov. 21, 2025, up from just 19 during the same timeframe in 2024. 

Fox News Digital’s Lindsay Kornick contributed to this report. 

Iran’s supreme leader has publicly acknowledged for the first time that thousands of people were killed during recent anti-government protests, according to reporting from the BBC, as President Donald Trump escalated his rhetoric and called for new leadership in Iran.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei made the remarks during a public address Saturday, blaming the U.S. for the unrest and violence and saying some protesters died «in an inhuman, savage manner,» the BBC reported.

The protests, which began in late December over economic conditions, later expanded into calls for an end to Iran’s ruling system. 

U.S.-based Iranian Human Rights Activists News Agency estimates that more than 3,000 people were killed over roughly three weeks of unrest, though Iranian authorities have not released an official death toll.

According to the BBC, nationwide internet shutdowns have made independent verification difficult, with connectivity dropping to roughly 2% of normal levels, citing data from cyber monitoring group NetBlocks.

A ‘TEAR DOWN THE WALL’ MOMENT IN IRAN WILL DAMAGE BOTH THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC — AND CHINA

Videos authenticated by BBC Persian and BBC Verify show Iranian security forces firing on demonstrators during the unrest.

Trump told Politico on Saturday that «it’s time to look for new leadership in Iran,» after being read a series of hostile posts from Khamenei’s X account accusing the president of responsibility for the violence.

«What he is guilty of, as the leader of a country, is the complete destruction of the country and the use of violence at levels never seen before,» Trump said, according to Politico. «Leadership is about respect, not fear and death.»

TOP IRANIAN GENERAL THREATENS TO ‘CUT OFF’ TRUMP’S HAND OVER POTENTIAL MILITARY STRIKES

President Donald Trump has said in recent days he was looking at «very strong options» including possible military involvement in Iran. (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP Photo)

Trump went further in personal terms, telling Politico, «The man is a sick man who should run his country properly and stop killing people.»

«His country is the worst place to live anywhere in the world because of poor leadership,» Trump added.

Trump has previously urged Iranians to continue protesting and «take over institutions,» saying that «help is on its way,» according to Politico. The president later said he had been informed that the killings had stopped.

«The best decision he ever made was not hanging more than 800 people two days ago,» Trump told Politico, when asked about the scope of potential U.S. military action.

Demonstrators burn a poster depicting Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a rally in support of anti-government protests in Iran, in Holon, Israel Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026.  (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

In a series of posts on X posts, Khamenei accused Trump of responsibility for the violence, writing, «We find the US President guilty due to the casualties, damages and slander he inflicted upon the Iranian nation.»

In another post, Khamenei claimed that «America’s goal is to devour Iran.»

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Trump has said in recent days he was looking at «very strong options» including possible military involvement.

The State Department did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

¿Qué pasó en Irán?

Una imagen de Teherán, este jueves. El país intenta retomar el ritmo tras dos semanas de violentas protestas. Foto: EFE

«Zona de guerra»

Miedo