His White House Engulfed, Trump Keeps California in the Cross Hairs (NYT)

[dalton99a]

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/22/climate/trump-california.html

His White House Engulfed, Trump Keeps California in the Cross Hairs
By Coral Davenport and Katie Rogers
Nov. 22, 2019, 5:00 a.m. ET

WASHINGTON — President Trump has never been one to dive into the details of policy, especially now, as an impeachment inquiry threatens to engulf his administration. In recent days, he has allowed his son-in-law to lead a major policy shift in the Middle East and has backed away from a high-profile promise to ban flavored e-cigarettes.

But even as his presidency teeters, one of the few policy issues that has maintained Mr. Trump’s personal focus is not one central to his political appeal, like immigration or trade.

It is the state of California.

The state has been a political fixation since the early days of his presidency, but that was heightened this autumn. Mr. Trump has attended meetings, asked detailed questions at briefings and pressed aides to find ways to use policies to go after the most populous state in the union, according to three people familiar with the matter. Aides say that Mr. Trump remains deeply involved on immigration policy, like a recent decision to slash the nation’s refugee program nearly in half, and on trade. But they describe him as obsessed with narrow policies that directly affect California. Beyond those three policy matters, little else has penetrated the swirl of impeachment.

Two Californians, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Adam B. Schiff, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, are leading the impeachment investigation. The state’s Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, has been unsparing in his criticism and his legal challenges.

And the president’s response appears to be personal. Beyond the name-calling — “Shifty” Adam Schiff and “Nervous Nancy” Pelosi — he has held California Democrats responsible even for the state’s natural disasters.

Barry Rabe, a public policy professor at the University of Michigan who is writing a book about the history of the state-federal relationship, said there were no historical parallels for the president’s obsession.

“I cannot think of another president who sustained a political jihad against a specific state,” he said.

[Caliman73]

1. Trump hates California

His biggest political nemeses are from here. Pelosi, Schiff, Newsom. California is solidly Democratic, with Republicans in a seemingly permanent minority. While California faces major problems from climate change, economics, and demographic changes, we are pretty solid. California has been bucking the Trump administration on immigration and environmental policy.

He thinks that if he can damage one of the most powerful states in the Union, that others will come under his heel.

[SoCalNative]

2. We hate him more

and I guarantee he won't win in the long game.