Over the past several weeks, California Governor Gavin Newsom has orchestrated a social media spectacle that’s left both political allies and adversaries buzzing. By channeling the bombastic, all-caps, meme-laden style of former President Donald Trump, Newsom hasn’t just poked fun—he’s held up a mirror to the very tactics that have dominated the political conversation for years. As the 2028 presidential race looms on the horizon, Newsom’s strategy has become the talk of the political world, riling up conservative commentators and energizing a Democratic base that’s been searching for a spark.
It all began in earnest as Newsom’s press office unleashed a torrent of posts that could have easily been mistaken for Trump’s own. On August 19, 2025, the governor’s account tweeted in all caps, “DANA ‘DING DONG’ PERINO (NEVER HEARD OF HER UNTIL TODAY!) IS MELTING DOWN BECAUSE OF ME, GAVIN C. NEWSOM!” The tweet continued, “FOX HATES THAT I AM AMERICA’S MOST FAVORITE GOVERNOR (‘RATINGS KING’) SAVING AMERICA — WHILE TRUMP CAN’T EVEN CONQUER THE ‘BIG’ STAIRS ON AIR FORCE ONE ANYMORE!!! TRUMP HAS ‘LOST HIS STEP’ AND FOX IS LOSING IT BECAUSE WHEN I TYPE, AMERICA NOW WINS!!! THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER.” According to Mediaite, the screed—complete with a mocking signature, “GCN”—was a direct parody of Trump’s signature social media rants, right down to the juvenile nicknames and self-aggrandizing flair.
Fox News host Dana Perino, herself a frequent target, was quick to respond. On air and online, Perino urged Newsom to “stop it with the Twitter thing,” adding, “If I were his wife I would say, ‘You are making a fool of yourself, stop it!’” She warned that if Newsom wanted to be taken seriously as a presidential contender, he needed to “be a little more serious.” Yet, as the days ticked by, Perino and other conservative pundits seemed to miss the point of the governor’s parody, repeatedly doubling down on their criticisms while Newsom’s team gleefully posted, “ALMOST A WEEK IN AND THEY STILL DON'T GET IT.”
It wasn’t just Perino who took the bait. Fox News contributor Tomi Lahren objected vocally when Newsom’s press office mockingly referred to MAGA activist Scott Presler as GOP Rep. Nancy Mace. Lahren called the move a “new low,” only to have the governor’s team fire back with, “You sound woke.” The pattern repeated itself when Fox News host Raymond Arroyo bristled at Newsom’s flippant remarks about Texas Governor Greg Abbott, who uses a wheelchair. Arroyo aired his grievances, only for Newsom’s office to retort, “No. But how woke of you to ask! I'm sorry Greg's feelings were hurt. Poor guy — we hope he recovers.”
Trace Gallagher, another Fox anchor, joined the chorus, lamenting that Newsom’s approach was “childish and unbecoming of a leader.” The governor’s press team responded in kind, mocking Gallagher’s show as “the most boring program in cable history. TOTAL SNOOZE FEST! SAD!!! — GCN.” Gallagher, undeterred, continued to criticize Newsom’s “new Trumpian style” and urged him to focus on California rather than social media theatrics.
But Newsom has been anything but coy about his intentions. As he told reporters last week, “I'm just following his example. If you have issues with what I'm putting out, you sure as hell should have concerns with what he's putting out as president.” Newsom’s social media operation, run by a dedicated team of aides, has garnered over a billion impressions in just a matter of weeks, according to CNN. The governor’s unapologetic trolling has been described by media analysts as an effort to “hold a mirror up to MAGA and ‘bully the bullies,’” as CNN’s Andrew Kirell put it. The right-wing media ecosystem, he noted, has been baited into making Newsom’s point about Trump’s behavior for him, often without realizing it.
This dynamic reached new heights when the White House itself responded to Newsom’s trolling. In what Politico Playbook described as “the first official White House press statement delivered exclusively in meme form,” officials sent a Mad Men meme featuring Don Draper’s line, “I don’t think about you at all.” Yet, as New York Magazine pointed out, taking the time to craft a meme in response to Newsom’s antics was itself a tacit admission that the California governor was very much on their minds. The meme, originally meant to signal indifference, instead revealed a kind of insecurity—much like the episode’s context in which Don Draper is, in fact, thinking about his rival.
Newsom’s parody hasn’t been limited to Trump alone. He’s also targeted Vice President Vance, editing her image onto the body of an Australian breakdancer known for a lackluster performance, and continued to needle other Republican figures. His press office has even coined a Trump-style nickname for the former president: “TACO,” short for “Trump Always Chickens Out”—a dig that originated on Wall Street and is designed to get under Trump’s skin.
For Democrats, Newsom’s strategy has been a shot in the arm. The party, still reeling from a Wall Street Journal poll showing a 63% unfavorable rating as of late July 2025, has found new energy in the governor’s willingness to fight fire with fire. “Democrats are over being the ‘nice guy’ party,” said Jamal Simmons, a Democratic strategist and former communications director for Vice President Kamala Harris. “Standing up for Dem values doesn’t mean you have to play by the old rules, and Newsom in particular is showing he’ll go as low as he needs to to take on Trump.”
Anthony Coley, another Democratic strategist, echoed this sentiment, telling The Hill, “Watching him go toe-to-toe with Trump on social media—an arena Trump has dominated for a decade—is refreshing, energizing and even fun to watch for many Democrats.” The results seem to back that up: A poll by Echelon Insights conducted from August 14-18, 2025, showed Newsom surging to second place among likely 2028 presidential candidates, with 13% support behind Kamala Harris’s 26%.
Of course, not everyone is convinced the strategy will pay off in the long run. Kevin Madden, a Republican strategist, cautioned that “Democrats are making a mistake to focus on ‘communications tactics’ when they should be focused on messaging.” He acknowledged that Newsom’s approach has positioned him at the top of the party’s internal pecking order, but questioned whether it would change the broader national debate.
Others see Newsom’s campaign as both clever and overdue. Democratic strategist Christy Setzer called the trolling “pretty brilliant,” noting that “he’s hoping to get under Trump’s skin, and may have drawn blood on that account.” She observed that while “no one will be Trumpier than Trump,” Newsom’s attention-grabbing tactics have already succeeded in energizing the base and shifting the conversation.
As the online spectacle continues, it’s clear that Newsom’s parody is more than just a stunt—it’s a calculated move to force opponents and observers alike to confront the normalization of Trumpian rhetoric. Whether this approach will cement his place as a Democratic standard-bearer or backfire in the months ahead remains to be seen. For now, though, Gavin Newsom has managed to make the absurd impossible to ignore, and in doing so, he’s changed the rules of political engagement—at least for this election cycle.
