Senator Ted Cruz sharply criticized California Governor Gavin Newsom for comments comparing U.S. federal law enforcement officers to Nazis, framing the remarks as part of a broader pattern among Democrats of demonizing law enforcement. Cruz made the remarks during an episode on the Verdict with Ted Cruz show, where he highlighted Newsom’s speech in Munich and linked it to statements made by former President Barack Obama.
Gavin Newsom is historically illiterate.
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) February 16, 2026
We break down his attacks on law enforcement on Verdict: https://t.co/JNIRtlWJ7l pic.twitter.com/2Zg64oLahE
Cruz cited a video clip of Newsom describing a federal response to unrest in a major U.S. city. Newsom stated, “I want to remember all those images of masked men, the secret police, something familiar in Germany. Those first images came out of my state, the second largest city in the United States of America. We saw 4,000 National Guard federalized. First time. We’d never see anything like this. And 700 active duty Marines sent not overseas, but to the second largest city in the United States of America, militarizing the streets of my city. Masked men. Masked men showing up unaccountable.” Cruz emphasized that Newsom was equating American law enforcement and military mobilization to the secret police of Nazi Germany.
“But I want to remember all those images of masked men, the secret police, something familiar in Germany." – Gavin Newsom, in Munich comparing American soldiers to nazis. pic.twitter.com/e9w4c0Dxhr
— Kevin Dalton (@TheKevinDalton) February 14, 2026
Cruz accused Newsom of being “historically illiterate,” arguing that the governor had ignored well-documented historical precedents. “He’s never heard of a president named Dwight D. Eisenhower. He’s never heard of sending the National Guard into southern states when Democrats who refused to desegregate schools resisted,” Cruz said, referring to Eisenhower’s deployment of troops to enforce civil rights laws in the 1950s and 1960s. He drew parallels between Newsom and historical figures such as Bull Connor, a Democratic official known for violently opposing civil rights, suggesting that attacking law enforcement has been a recurring theme among Democrats.
Cruz further linked Newsom’s statements to other Democratic leaders and past events, including remarks from Obama and comments from Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Gretchen Whitmer, portraying a consistent pattern of “lawless Democrats attacking law enforcement.” He played additional clips of Obama, highlighting what he described as “judo” politics, where the former president would accuse opponents of the very tactics his administration used, thereby flipping narratives to the Democrats’ advantage.
Obama: "The rogue behavior of agents of the federal government is deeply concerning and dangerous … the sort of behavior that we've seen in authoritarian countries and we've seen in dictatorships, but we have not seen in America." pic.twitter.com/UEnpHeIUEI
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 15, 2026
Cruz framed the critique within a broader historical and political context, asserting that Obama’s presidency contributed to deepening partisan divisions. “In any fair history, he will not go down as this because most historians are leftists, so they will carve him into Mount Rushmore. But if you were fairly assessing his legacy, he is one of the most bitterly partisan leaders our country has ever had,” Cruz said. He cited early Obama-era incidents such as the “Beer Summit” and statements about small-town Americans, portraying them as part of a pattern of demonizing law enforcement and certain segments of the public.
Throughout his remarks, Cruz emphasized that the pattern of demonizing law enforcement is “central to who they are, central to who the party is,” and singled out Newsom as following that tradition. He repeatedly framed the governor’s statements as historically uninformed, connecting them to both contemporary and past Democratic policies and actions that he characterized as lawless or divisive.
