Nomad
Every trumper is a N4T.
Newsomâs Trump act wins raves from Democrats
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has figured out the best way to get under President Trumpâs skin.
Act like him
In an effort to egg Trump on â and rally his own troops in the Democratic Party â Newsom has taken a page from Trumpâs playbook, mirroring everything from the presidentâs rants to his social media habits.
In recent days, the California governor has touted his own âbeautifulâ midterm redistricting proposal and his âbeautifulâ rally to boot â needling Trumpâs braggadocious ways.
Newsom has started to write his social media posts in ALL CAPS, just like the presiden
And heâs come up with his own Trump-y nickname for the president: TACO, short for Trump Always Chickens Out, an acronym that originated on Wall Street in reaction to Trumpâs moves on tariffs and is designed to annoy the White House.
In the process, Newsom is garnering attention from all ends of the media, while energizing Democrats eager to see members of their party fight back at the presiden
The HuffPost on Tuesday led with the headline âHeâs on a trollâ with a photo of a smiling Newsom. Fox News during a segment on âThe Fiveâ commented on his efforts to copy Trump.
âDemocrats are over being the ânice guyâ party,â said Democratic strategist Jamal Simmons, who served as Kamala Harrisâs communications director in the vice presidentâs office. âStanding up for Dem values doesnât mean you have to play by the old rules, and Newsom in particular is showing heâll go as low as he needs to to take on Trump.â
Since losing the election in November, Democrats have been rudderless and, for the most part, leaderless, desperately trying to find their way out of the wilderness.
A Wall Street Journal poll out late last month showed Democratsâ popularity at the lowest point in three decades. The poll showed 63 percent of voters have an unfavorable view of Democratic Party while 33 percent of voters have a favorable view.
But Newsomâs recent strategy has given the party a shot in the arm, Simmons and other strategists say.
âGavin Newsom is capturing the hearts and minds of Democrats,â Simmons said, adding that, âPeople who donât do politics for a living are asking about him, and they really like him.â
Anthony Coley, a Democratic strategist who served in the Biden administration, agreed, saying âwatching him go toe-to-toe with Trump on social media â an arena Trump has dominated for a decade â is refreshing, energizing and even fun to watch for many Democrats.â
A survey out this week by Echelon Insights showed Newsom surging in a 2028 poll among likely candidates. The poll taken Aug. 14-18 â a period when Newsom dominated headlines â shows the California governor in second place at 13 percent, behind Harris who received 26 percent.
In recent days, Newsomâs press office â clearly aware of the traction the governor has been getting with his new Trumpian tack â has continued to needle Trump by continuing to echo him.
But the account isnât just targeting Trump. Itâs also going after Vice President Vance. On Monday, the account edited a photo of the vice president onto the body of Australian breakdancer Rachael âRaygunâ Gunn, who made headlines last year for a mediocre performance.
The account also targeted other Republicans, including Dana Perino â the former White House press secretary who is now a television host â after she slammed him for being unserious.
âYou have to stop it with the Twitter thing,â Perino said Monday. âIf I were his wife, I would say: You are making a fool of yourself, stop it. ⊠Heâs got a big job as governor of California, but if he wants an even bigger job, he has to be a little more serious.â
Support for Newsomâs social media efforts appeared to be growing. As of Tuesday afternoon, the X account for Newsomâs press office had nearly 400,000 followers.
But Kevin Madden, the longtime Republican strategist, said Democrats are making a mistake to focus on âcommunications tacticsâ when they should be focused on messaging.
âNewsomâs strategy and approach has been reflective of that,â Madden said. âHeâs got a new podcast and a more aggressive social media presence, but other than more clicks and downloads has that shifted the dynamics or public debate in his favor, or improved the national party brand?â
âSo far, there is little evidence of that,â Madden added. âIt has, though, positioned him at the top of the partyâs internal process of sorting out the next generation of national candidates and leaders.â
Democratic strategist Christy Setzer said Newsomâs âtrollingâ has two main audiences: âDemocrats who want someone, anyone, to take on Trump in a real way, and the media, who Democrats feel have normalized too much of Trumpâs insanity.â
âIâm surprised itâs taken Democrats this long to do it,â Setzer said, calling the strategy âpretty brilliant.â
âHeâs hoping to get under Trumpâs skin, and may have drawn blood on that account, [and] is it just me or did Trump stop using the all-caps in his unhinged posts after seeing Newsomâs?â she said.
Setzer added that while âno one will be Trumpier than Trump,â the strategy is working.
âAs an attention-grabbing tactic, heâs already succeeded,â she said.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has figured out the best way to get under President Trumpâs skin.
Act like him
In an effort to egg Trump on â and rally his own troops in the Democratic Party â Newsom has taken a page from Trumpâs playbook, mirroring everything from the presidentâs rants to his social media habits.
In recent days, the California governor has touted his own âbeautifulâ midterm redistricting proposal and his âbeautifulâ rally to boot â needling Trumpâs braggadocious ways.
Newsom has started to write his social media posts in ALL CAPS, just like the presiden
And heâs come up with his own Trump-y nickname for the president: TACO, short for Trump Always Chickens Out, an acronym that originated on Wall Street in reaction to Trumpâs moves on tariffs and is designed to annoy the White House.
In the process, Newsom is garnering attention from all ends of the media, while energizing Democrats eager to see members of their party fight back at the presiden
The HuffPost on Tuesday led with the headline âHeâs on a trollâ with a photo of a smiling Newsom. Fox News during a segment on âThe Fiveâ commented on his efforts to copy Trump.
âDemocrats are over being the ânice guyâ party,â said Democratic strategist Jamal Simmons, who served as Kamala Harrisâs communications director in the vice presidentâs office. âStanding up for Dem values doesnât mean you have to play by the old rules, and Newsom in particular is showing heâll go as low as he needs to to take on Trump.â
Since losing the election in November, Democrats have been rudderless and, for the most part, leaderless, desperately trying to find their way out of the wilderness.
A Wall Street Journal poll out late last month showed Democratsâ popularity at the lowest point in three decades. The poll showed 63 percent of voters have an unfavorable view of Democratic Party while 33 percent of voters have a favorable view.
But Newsomâs recent strategy has given the party a shot in the arm, Simmons and other strategists say.
âGavin Newsom is capturing the hearts and minds of Democrats,â Simmons said, adding that, âPeople who donât do politics for a living are asking about him, and they really like him.â
Anthony Coley, a Democratic strategist who served in the Biden administration, agreed, saying âwatching him go toe-to-toe with Trump on social media â an arena Trump has dominated for a decade â is refreshing, energizing and even fun to watch for many Democrats.â
A survey out this week by Echelon Insights showed Newsom surging in a 2028 poll among likely candidates. The poll taken Aug. 14-18 â a period when Newsom dominated headlines â shows the California governor in second place at 13 percent, behind Harris who received 26 percent.
In recent days, Newsomâs press office â clearly aware of the traction the governor has been getting with his new Trumpian tack â has continued to needle Trump by continuing to echo him.
But the account isnât just targeting Trump. Itâs also going after Vice President Vance. On Monday, the account edited a photo of the vice president onto the body of Australian breakdancer Rachael âRaygunâ Gunn, who made headlines last year for a mediocre performance.
The account also targeted other Republicans, including Dana Perino â the former White House press secretary who is now a television host â after she slammed him for being unserious.
âYou have to stop it with the Twitter thing,â Perino said Monday. âIf I were his wife, I would say: You are making a fool of yourself, stop it. ⊠Heâs got a big job as governor of California, but if he wants an even bigger job, he has to be a little more serious.â
Support for Newsomâs social media efforts appeared to be growing. As of Tuesday afternoon, the X account for Newsomâs press office had nearly 400,000 followers.
But Kevin Madden, the longtime Republican strategist, said Democrats are making a mistake to focus on âcommunications tacticsâ when they should be focused on messaging.
âNewsomâs strategy and approach has been reflective of that,â Madden said. âHeâs got a new podcast and a more aggressive social media presence, but other than more clicks and downloads has that shifted the dynamics or public debate in his favor, or improved the national party brand?â
âSo far, there is little evidence of that,â Madden added. âIt has, though, positioned him at the top of the partyâs internal process of sorting out the next generation of national candidates and leaders.â
Democratic strategist Christy Setzer said Newsomâs âtrollingâ has two main audiences: âDemocrats who want someone, anyone, to take on Trump in a real way, and the media, who Democrats feel have normalized too much of Trumpâs insanity.â
âIâm surprised itâs taken Democrats this long to do it,â Setzer said, calling the strategy âpretty brilliant.â
âHeâs hoping to get under Trumpâs skin, and may have drawn blood on that account, [and] is it just me or did Trump stop using the all-caps in his unhinged posts after seeing Newsomâs?â she said.
Setzer added that while âno one will be Trumpier than Trump,â the strategy is working.
âAs an attention-grabbing tactic, heâs already succeeded,â she said.