The LIV Golf star isn’t afraid to speak his mind and the latest instance of that has seen him target the Governor of California after he announced a lawsuit against the U.S. President
Phil Mickelson has pulled no punches with his assessment of Gavin Newsom’s decision to file a lawsuit against Donald Trump
Phil Mickelson took aim at Gavin Newsom for his lawsuit suing Donald Trump over electric cars by poking fun at his “great high speed railway system”.
The LIV Golf star sarcastically responded to the Governor of California’s post on X (formerly Twitter) slamming the U.S. President for “withholding billions of dollars approved by Congress for electric vehicle infrastructure,” prompting him to announce a lawsuit. It comes not long after Trump’s bans on trans athletes and sweeping tariffs put Newsom in a bind ahead of the 2028 Olympics.
Mickelson, meanwhile, isn’t afriad to speak his mind and regularly engages in political debate online. Earlier this month, the 54-year-old was up until the early hours of the morning posting about U.S. politics just hours before his early start at LIV Golf Korea, while he lauded Elon Musk for helping America become “fiscally responsible” following the widespread cuts on the economy instilled by him and President Trump.
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On Saturday, the former PGA Tour star was at it once again after coming across Newsom’s post online.
“California is filing a lawsuit against President Trump for withholding billions of dollars approved by Congress for electric vehicle infrastructure,” Newsom wrote. “This is yet another Trump gift to China – ceding American innovation and killing thousands of jobs. We are not letting up.”
In response, Mickelson sarcastically posted: “Stay after it governor. Show him what a great high speed railway system we have and I’m sure he’ll change his mind.”
Phil Mickelson has ripped into California Governor Gavin Newsom(Image: Getty Images)
The golfer was referring to Newsom’s California high-speed rail project connecting the San Francisco Bay Area with Los Angeles. The idea was first raised by Newsom’s predecessor, Jerry Brown, in 2008, when the estimated cost was around $30billion, but that number has since skyrocketed to an estimated $130bn.
It isn’t just Mickelson who has attacked the 57-year-old for the scheme, with Trump also previously pulling no punches with his verdict of the project, claiming that is has hindered any aspirations Newsom has of running for president.
“A little train going from San Francisco to Los Angeles that’s being run by Gavin Newscum, the governor of California. Ever heard of Gavin Newscum?’ Trump said in the Oval Office. “That train is the worst cost overrun thing I’ve ever seen. It’s hundreds of billions for a stupid project that should’ve never been built.”
Mickelson previously ripped into Newsom when he announced the launch of “californiafacts.com”, a wesbite which he said will “call out the misinformation machine that consistently spews lies about CA”.
Mickelson sarcastically responded to Newsom in a tweet about his lawsuit against Trump(Image: X/Twitter – Phil Mickelson)
Newsom added how the country would be “going on the offense and fighting back – with facts,” to which the San Diego-born Mickelson responded: “In golf, I have Phil’s Book of Rules. It’s where I make the rules as I go and it’s great. I understand why you would do the same.”
On the greens, Mickelson is currently preparing for this week’s PGA Championship at Quail Hollow in North Carolina, the second major of the year – and the only one he is yet to win. A victory this weekend would see him become just the seventh player to achieve a career Grand Slam.
He certainly has some making up to do, however, having recently been made to eat his words after claiming that Scottie Scheffler wouldn’t win another tournament until September, only for him to go and claim his first PGA Tour victory of 2025 by winning the CJ Cup Byron Nelson.
