Gavin Newsom’s press aide Izzy Gardon mocks Trump while California's $40B fire aid hangs in balance

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Izzy Gardon, California Gov Gavin Newsom’s communications chief, has been moonlighting as the governor’s in-house Donald Trump impersonator.

Gardon is the press flack behind the “@GovPressOffice” account that has been taking swipes at President Trump while California is still asking Uncle Sam for a whopping $40 billion in fire relief.

On LinkedIn, Gardon proudly lists his high school stint as “student body president,” alongside a resume sprinkled with political social media gigs. On X, Gardon admitted he’s the one responsible for those “bad work related tweets” fired off from @GovPressOffice.

His day job is serving as Director of Communications for Newsom, which means he’s the official hand behind the state-owned press office account. Newsom’s digital director, Camille Zapata, helps manage other feeds, but @GovPressOffice is Gardon’s turf.   

Izzy Gardon channels Trump with a California twist

According to Breitbart News, the @GovPressOffice account is trying to mimic the bombastic flavor of Donald Trump’s Truth Social posts. But instead of Trumpian zingers, critics say Gardon comes off like a parody gone wrong, more nasty than witty, and a caricature of what Democrats think Trump sounds like.

The account often pokes fun at anyone who takes its all-caps posts at face value, treating them as if they’ve fallen for an obvious spoof. Yet @GovPressOffice is the official government mouthpiece. 

Gardon, meanwhile, openly celebrates what he sees as a masterclass in trolling. “When the PRESIDENT’S press team is spending their whole day talking about a GOVERNOR’S social media posts, Newsom is not in their head ‘rent free’ — he OWNS the penthouse, the parking garage, and the naming rights. Total domination!!!” he bragged in one post.

On his account, he recently aimed at Arkansas Gov Sarah Huckabee Sanders’s looks. “Kid Rock looks rough here," he quipped alongside a screenshot of her.

What’s more, Gardon often retweets his “greatest hits” from the official gig. The tone matches Newsom’s own increasingly bitter attacks on Trump, which have become the governor’s go-to strategy in speeches and statements lately.

Relief funds hang in balance while Gavin Newsom’s press shop spars online

While Izzy Gardon and Gavin Newsom’s press shop is busy clapping back online, California is trying to squeeze $40 billion from Congress for wildfire recovery after January’s devastation. That check would ultimately need Trump’s signature, assuming lawmakers can even cobble together the votes.

Rep Brad Sherman (D-CA), who represents neighborhoods ravaged by the Palisades Fire, has pleaded that Washington shouldn’t play politics with disaster relief. He points out that California doesn’t block aid to hurricane-hit red states, even when they push abortion bans.

Newsom seems to be banking on Sherman’s logic. But according to Breitbart, that $40 billion may be hanging by a thread. It’s a sharp shift from the pandemic days, when Newsom buttered up Trump and praised him for federal help.   

Now, with no re-election race on his calendar and an eye on a 2028 presidential run, Newsom appears to have cut Gardon loose to troll as he pleases.

Either Newsom has already written off the $40 billion in fire aid, or he’s betting that taking on Trump head-to-head will boost his national stock.

For now, it seems California’s governor and his comms chief are trading memes and mockery with the White House instead of cutting deals with them.

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