California Governor Gavin Newsom was, until recently, a head-down, get-to-work guy. He used social media to promote important projects and keep the public updated on the latest developments. But not anymore. He’s now a huge star on X thanks to social media trolling that is giving Republicans a taste of their own medicine.
Making of Gavin Newsom, the Expert Troll
The team behind the Governor Newsom Press Office is using social media to give Newsom some badly needed exposure. They went with the funniest route of mimicking the style of Trump’s posts on Truth Social. The tweets are in all caps, refer to Newsom as “AMERICA’S FAVORITE GOVERNOR,” and use catchphrases like “low energy” and sing-off “THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER!” They even include the initials “GNC” at the end to copy Trump’s “DJT.” You’ll also see a lot of AI-generated images, including Newsom’s head on Mount Rushmore.
It all started in early August when Governor Newsom’s Press Office shared a tweet: “DONALD TRUMP, IF YOU DO NOT STAND DOWN, WE WILL BE FORCED TO LEAD AN EFFORT TO REDRAW THE MAPS IN CA TO OFFSET THE RIGGING OF MAPS IN RED STATES.” It was supposed to be a one-time jab, but the reaction of social media users was so overwhelming that they just decided to keep going.
Trump and MAGA Crowd Don’t Like It
Of course, Newsom’s newfound affinity for social media isn’t sitting well with Trump and his MAGA crowd. The President referred to Newsom as “Newscum” and called him “an incompetent guy.” Fox News anchor Trace Gallagher described it as “childish.” Fox News’ Dana Perino added that Newsom is “making a fool” of himself. White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson accused the California governor of being inauthentic and said his “behavior is just getting weird at this point.”
But Newsom and his team don’t seem to have any intention of backing down; on the contrary. The X page of the Governor Newsom Press Office gained 300K new followers since they took this new approach. Newsom said that he’s just following Trump’s example: “If you’ve got issues with what I’m putting out, you sure as hell should have concerns about what he’s putting out as president.”
Fight Fire with Fire
Newsom realized that there is no point in keeping the same old approach of his party. The Republicans were always the loud and offensive ones, while Democrats would try to show voters, they were better than their opponents. Now, Newsom is turning the tables, becoming almost a Democrat version of Trump; just as loud and unapologetic, but having the right values.
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