SACRAMENTO, Calif. – On Thursday, California Governor Gavin Newsom will present his final State of the State address to legislators in Sacramento. In this significant speech, he is anticipated to outline his agenda for the last year of his gubernatorial tenure while setting his sights on a potential presidential campaign in 2028.

As a Democrat, Newsom is mindful of the legacy he will leave behind as he concludes his eight-year leadership of the United States’ most populous state. Throughout his term, he often found himself in direct contention with Republican President Donald Trump.

In previous addresses, Newsom has highlighted California’s robust economic development and technological advancements, while also defending the state against criticisms concerning its soaring living costs and significant homeless population. He has frequently criticized Trump, cautioning that the former president’s policies could undermine California’s progressive values.

This year’s address is particularly poignant, coming just a day after the state remembered the anniversary of the catastrophic fires in the Los Angeles area. These fires, among the deadliest in the state’s history, devastated communities and claimed 31 lives.

Since the tragic events, Newsom has persistently sought billions in federal aid from Congress and Trump to support recovery efforts in the affected regions. However, this request remains unanswered, adding to the list of ongoing disagreements between the governor and the president during Trump’s return to office.

The two have sparred over everything from Trump’s deployment of National Guard troops in L.A. to the federal government’s blocking of California’s first-in-the-nation ban on the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035.

The state has sued the Trump administration more than 50 times, and Newsom has called Trump a threat to democracy, leading a redistricting fight to improve Democrats’ chances of winning control of the House in this year’s midterm elections.

“I don’t for a second trust him,” Newsom said in a recent interview on MS NOW, adding that on Jan. 6, 2021, when Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol, the president “tried to light democracy on fire.”

It would be a surprise if Newsom does not mention Trump in his final State of the State ahead of a potential presidential run, said Christopher Witko, executive director of the University of California Center Sacramento, which trains students for careers in public policy.

“He’s going to talk about Trump as a threat and probably how he’s been standing up to him,” Witko said. “It’s going to be an audience of people in the state, but an audience of Democrats outside of the state too.”

Newsom is also expected to talk about what he wants to get done in the rest of his second term. The governor has spent the past seven years trying to solve some of California’s most relentless issues, including the impacts of climate change, the state’s homelessness crisis, and its high gas and utility prices.

On Friday he is set to unveil his proposed budget for the next fiscal year after years facingbudget shortfalls.

This is the first time Newsom has delivered the State of the State to lawmakers in person since 2022. He has said he does not like formal speeches because his dyslexia makes it difficult to read from a teleprompter in live time.

Instead he has submitted a written address to lawmakers in the years since, fulfilling a constitutional requirement that he report to the Legislature in some form.

He also tried other approaches that have departed from tradition, including posting a prerecorded speech online and touring the state to announce policies aimed at tackling homelessness and mental health crises.

Under the state constitution, Newsom is barred from seeking a third term.