Gavin Newsom says he mimics Trump's social media style to 'put a mirror up' to his 'madness'

WASHINGTON, DC: California Governor Gavin Newsom defended his tactics of trolling Donald Trump in an NBC News interview published on Sunday, November 2. 

In recent months, Newsom has escalated tensions with Trump beyond policy and public statements, deliberately mimicking his style on social media with AI-generated videos, edited images, and heavily styled posts.

Gavin Newsom defends his tactics of mocking Trump

Kristen Welker asked Gavin Newsom during an interview on NBC News' 'Meet the Press', “Part of your tactics is to imitate some of what we see online from President Trump. So you mimic his all-cap posts. You send out similar memes. Do you run the risk of normalizing that behavior?”

Newsom defended his actions, saying, “Quite the contrary. The whole expression was to not allow it to be normalized.”

The Democrat explained, “It was becoming normalized — the normalization of deviancy across the spectrum of issues, but his communication — he's dressing up as the pope, as Superman. He's putting his face on Mt. Rushmore. It's madness. So I put a mirror up to that madness.”  

Newsom and Trump's social media war escalates

While many know about the feud between Donald Trump and Gavin Newsom, it intensified when the president accused the California governor of incompetence amid the Los Angeles protests and National Guard deployment.

In July, Newsom criticized Trump for refusing to release the Epstein files. After Trump announced a Coca-Cola deal requiring the use of cane sugar in their drinks, Newsom joked, “Oh thank god! I totally forgot about the Epstein files now!”

In early September, Newsom shared social media posts mocking Trump’s health and public blunders. Trump responded by posting an AI-edited video showing Newsom wearing a red “Trump 2028” cap, poking fun at speculation about Trump’s next run. 

Trump had mocked Newsom on social media, calling him “Newscum” and criticizing the governor for supporting a low-income housing project in Los Angeles. “How unfair is that to the people that have suffered so much!” Trump wrote in September.

On September 30, Newsom posted an unflattering photo of Trump at a McDonald’s in Pennsylvania, referencing complaints from Trump’s secretary of state about “fat generals and admirals.”

In another AI-generated image, Trump holds two Big Macs while drones drop more fast food. Newsom wrote in the caption, “It’s completely unacceptable to see a fat commander in chief in the halls of the White House!”

Earlier in October, Trump claimed the US film industry had been “stolen by other countries” and announced a 100% tariff on foreign-made movies. He added, “California, with its weak and incompetent Governor, has been particularly hard hit!”

On October 1, Newsom posted an AI-altered image of Trump as Marie Antoinette, captioned: “Trump ‘Marie Antoinette’ says, ‘No health care for you peasants, but a ballroom for the queen!’” The post mocked Trump’s stance on healthcare and portrayed him as out of touch.

Last week, when Trump posted a strange, apparently meaningless tweet on Truth Social that read, “South Carerdddd,” Newsom responded, “The extra ds stand for dementia.”