California governor says El Salvador trip a counter to Trump

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom says his visit to El Salvador is a counter to President Donald Trump’s “demoralizing” and “toxic” rhetoric about Central American migrants.

The Democratic governor says he wants Salvadorans to know people in the United States want to understand their struggles.

Newsom’s trip began Sunday and lasts through Tuesday. He began with a visit to the tomb of Saint Oscar Romero, the Salvadoran priest who was assassinated in 1980 over his advocacy for the poor.

Newsom’s trip will also include meetings with El Salvador’s president and president-elect as well as the U.S. ambassador.

It comes as the Trump administration moves to cut aid to El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala because the administration believes they have failed to stop people from fleeing to the United States.

California is home to the nation’s largest Salvadoran population and its busiest border crossing.