Is there anything lower than smearing the U.S. Marines, solely to score political points against President Trump?

Most of us would say 'no.'

But for Gavin Newsom, leftist governor of California, it was just a Saturday afternoon, where he invented a cockamamie story about the Marines being cavalier about public safety at their 250th anniversary celebration at Camp Pendletonsix days ago, based on their live-fire demonstration.

Gov. Brylcreem postured that he shut down Highway 5 as the adult in the room because the terrible, irresponsible, ego-driven Marines had been out hitting civilians with shrapnel at their celebration.

It was false. It never happened. 

The Marines did forensic tests and found that whatever hit the CHP car wasn't in the Marines' line of fire at all. The governor controls the CHP and by the wildest of coincidences, it was a CHP car that was supposedly hit by the Marines' shrapnel. The governor said he acted right away to shut the entire northbound-southbound Highway 5 for several hours which is the only practical passage linking Los Angeles and San Diego.

Except that there wasn't any shrapnel. And the Marines have been doing these live-fire exercises for decades in this very spot with never a safety incident at all.

But this didn't stop the tut-tutting from Newsom about being all in for public safety -- the guy who left Altadena and Pacific Palisades to burn to the ground because he failed to clear brush and fill water tanks.

The event had been attended by Vice President J.D. Vance, who served with the Marines, which was likely one reason why he threw a [unprintable] into the Marines' punchbowl, spoiling their party.

The California Globe has an excellent account of what happened and why Newsom did it:

On Saturday, October 18, 2025, Vice President JD Vance, a Marine and Iraq War veteran, attended a review of the Marines that included an artillery demonstration, for the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Marines Corps.

At 1:15 p.m., CHP closed I-5 between San Clemente and Oceanside at the direction of Gavin Newsom. At 1:46 p.m. four M777s fired four 155mm shells. CHP reported shrapnel on one of their vehicles, notified the Marines, who canceled further firings. No one else in attendance heard, saw, or felt a “premature detonation.” CHP swept the area between 1:46 p.m. to 2:20 p.m before reopening the 5.

On Sunday, October 19, 2025 – the next day – CHP Border Division Chief Tony Coronado in a press release – not a press conference – announced that two pieces of shrapnel hit a CHP vehicle. This was promoted by Newsom as justification for shutting down the 5.

Local and state media then single sourced CHP – whom Gavin Newsom controls – and ignored two basic questions: What was the intended impact point and what type of 155mm shell and fusing was used.

The writer, Matt Quan, who is an Air Force veteran, wrote this spectacular arpeggio debunking the Newsom claims:

If this happened – which it didn’t – everyone starting with the gun crews would have seen, heard, and felt the premature explosion, louder, lower, and more powerful than any fireworks display at Disneyland. The gun crews, then the forward observers, would have been the first to end the event.

If this happened – which it didn’t – CHP and the Marines would have shut I-5 down longer than 35 minutes to recover the missing 75 to 100 pounds of shell fragments and unexploded ordnance. There would have been damage to the Las Pulgas access control point and an inspection of the tracks by the North County Transit District (Coaster), Amtrak, or the U.S. Department of Transportation.

If this happened – which it didn’t – it would have been news on Saturday, not Sunday, and it would have been a press conference. However, that would come with questions that require answers. CHP Border Division Chief Corondao [sic] didn’t even spell his name correctly in his press release.

If this happened – which it didn’t – Rep. Mike Levin, a Democrat whose district includes Camp Pendleton, would have made a statement. Albeit it was a weekend and Levin has never shown any interest in Camp Pendleton.

If this happened – which it didn’t – Rep. Seth Moulton, a prominent Democrat, Marine, and Iraq War veteran, would have made a statement. However, Moulton is disfavored by Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, and isn’t going to destroy his credibility covering for Newsom.

If this happened – which it didn’t – there would be an investigation by the U.S. Marine Corps of the shell casing, filling, and fuze. These components have lot and serial numbers, and are made from the same facilities and stockpiles that the U.S. supplies Ukraine.

If this happened – which it didn’t – there would be an investigation by the U.S. Secret Service for potential sabotage and assasination attempt on Vice President JD Vance or Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.

If this happened – which it didn’t – there would be an investigation by both the U.S. Senate and House Armed Services Committees in Congress. However, Newsom especially doesn’t want an investigation because nothing about his claim is credible and with complicit media mouthpieces that isn’t the point.his

Newsom looks like an ass now, and doesn't want anyone talking about his disgusting effort to smear the Marines to Get Trump. I think this tells us all we need to know about this governor and why he's the one who needs to be investigated. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie was scored for less for his famous bridge shutdown. This bid to Get Trump is one that ought to backfire bigtime right in his smarmy, shameless face.

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