California Gov. Gavin Newsom is condemning President Donald Trump’s decision to launch an attack on Iran and raising concerns about the broader global impact — including gas prices.
At a press briefing on Monday, Newsom questioned what the imminent threat was that triggered the U.S. and Israel to launch an attack on Iran.
“Now we have Gulf allies being attacked. We have American planes that have literally been shot down by American allies. We have to reconcile why our bombs were used or Israeli bombs were used to kill children, young girls at a school, and what the imminent threat was,” he said. “The alarms you hear outside, the sirens are across the world, not just across this country, cities and counties smaller. Office of Emergency Service, I mean, we have had conversations over the last few days that we didn’t have to have prior days as it relates to emergency preparedness and planning and unintended consequences.”
Newsom also critizied the president’s response to the death of U.S. servicemembers during the military operations.
“Four servicemembers died today, and Donald Trump spent more time talking about his ballroom than he did about the loss of those lives. Review the tape. He spent more time talking about the curtains in his ballroom than he did the four servicemembers who died because of his operation and his declaration of war without Congressional consent. He still has not articulated what the endgame is. Period, full stop,” he said.
In a later update, authorities said the U.S. servicemember death toll has risen to six since the operation against Iran began.
The governor also warned that Californians should expect higher energy prices in the coming weeks. Over the weekend, his office highlighted that gas prices in California have remained under $5 a gallon for nearly two years, a point critics countered by noting that the national average is roughly $2 lower.
“Energy prices are up across the globe. Oil prices are up. Gas prices are going up — every $10 increase in a barrel is roughly $0.24 per gallon that you will be paying more because of Trump’s war,” Newsom said.
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