To critique the Trump administration, California Governor Gavin Newsom is taking a page from President Donald Trump’s book. Trump is known for coming up with strange (and offensive) nicknames for people he doesn’t like. During his first presidential campaign, Trump called Senator Ted Cruz “Lyin’ Ted” and Secretary of State Marco Rubio “Little Marco.” He has also used the name “Newscum” for Governor Newsom.
Previously, Newsom called Trump out for his name-calling tactics and referred to him as a “son of a b—h.” He also explained how the name-calling has impacted his family. “How do I explain that to my kid? I have my kids’ friends calling my kids Newscum,” he said. “That I get because I was called that in seventh grade, but not by a 79-year-old.”
But recently, Newsom’s team has started trolling the Trump administration by sharing Trump-like content on social media, including messages in all-caps, AI-generated images, fake celebrity endorsements, and messages signed off with, “THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS VERY IMPORTANT MATTER!!!”
I ACCEPT! — GCN pic.twitter.com/DLWF65DraJ
— Governor Newsom Press Office (@GovPressOffice) August 18, 2025
In addition to sharing AI-generated images of Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Kid Rock, the X account targeted Vice President JD Vance in a few different posts. The governor’s official account reacted to a post from internet personality Nick Sortor that read, “BREAKING: VP JD Vance WILL be in attendance at President Trump’s meeting with Zelensky tomorrow Are we about to see another Oval Office showdown?!” In response, Newsom’s office shared a photo of Olympic breaker Rachael Gunn, or Raygun, with Vance’s face in place of hers.
A highly anticipated “showdown” https://t.co/dKbAFiTEVl pic.twitter.com/Td8WZsjTsC
— Governor Newsom Press Office (@GovPressOffice) August 18, 2025
They captioned the post, “A highly anticipated ‘showdown.'”
In another post on August 16, his office shared a Trump-inspired statement about Vance, giving him a new nickname and calling him out for his accused eyeliner usage.
“NOT EVEN JD ‘JUST DANCE’ VANCE CAN SAVE TRUMP FROM THE DISASTROUS MAPS ‘WAR’ HE HAS STARTED,” the post read. “NOT EVEN HIS EYELINER LINES LOOK AS PRETTY AS CALIFORNIA ‘MAP’ LINES. HE WILL FAIL, AS HE ALWAYS DOES (SAD!) AND I, THE PEACETIME GOVERNOR — OUR NATION’S FAVORITE — WILL SAVE AMERICA ONCE AGAIN. MANY ARE NOW CALLING ME GAVIN CHRISTOPHER ‘COLUMBUS’ NEWSOM (BECAUSE OF THE MAPS!). THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER. — GCN”
NOT EVEN JD “JUST DANCE” VANCE CAN SAVE TRUMP FROM THE DISASTROUS MAPS “WAR” HE HAS STARTED. NOT EVEN HIS EYELINER LINES LOOK AS PRETTY AS CALIFORNIA “MAP” LINES. HE WILL FAIL, AS HE ALWAYS DOES (SAD!) AND I, THE PEACETIME GOVERNOR — OUR NATION’S FAVORITE — WILL SAVE AMERICA ONCE… https://t.co/yKBO6VPA3t
— Governor Newsom Press Office (@GovPressOffice) August 16, 2025
