Over the last few weeks, California Governor Gavin Newsom has found new popularity for a social media strategy that aims to match the Trump administration at its own game — a series of insult-laden, all-caps posts that mirror President Trump’s posts on Truth Social.
“BIG PRESS CONFERENCE THIS WEEK WITH POWERFUL DEMS AND GAVIN NEWSOM — YOUR FAVORITE GOVERNOR — THAT WILL BE DEVASTATING FOR ‘MAGA’,” Newsom’s press office posted on Aug. 12 in reference to California’s plans to redistrict voting maps to counteract similar efforts by Republicans in Texas. “THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER!”
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Another recent Newsom press office post said nothing but “covfefe” — a viral typo in a tweet that Trump posted at 12:07 a.m. in May 2017. Still others mocked House Speaker Mike Johnson, Texas Governor Greg Abbott, and White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt in a similar style.
‘HE CAN’T EVEN DO THE BIG STAIRS ON AIR FORCE ONE’: Newsom
As the posts quickly found their fan base and went viral, Newsom ramped up their frequency and put out yet another one mocking the president’s fall as he was boarding Air Force One last June.
“DONALD IS FINISHED — HE IS NO LONGER ‘HOT,'” Newsom wrote on Aug. 14. “FIRST THE HANDS (SO TINY) AND NOW ME — GAVIN C. NEWSOM — HAVE TAKEN AWAY HIS ‘STEP.’ MANY ARE SAYING HE CAN’T EVEN DO THE ‘BIG STAIRS’ ON AIR FORCE ONE ANYMORE — USES THE LITTLE BABY STAIRS NOW. SAD!”
The incident occurred on June 8 in Morristown, New Jersey — while talking to reporters, President Trump was filmed taking a stumble as he moved to board the plane on the way to Camp David.
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As a similar trip by former President Joseph Biden in 2021 was latched onto by political adversaries to argue that he was unfit for office, the video of President Trump tripping immediately went viral and racked up millions of views on different social media platforms.
In the video, Secretary of State Marco Rubio is also seen tripping on the stairs as he follows the president to board the aircraft.
U.S. President Donald J. Trump stumbles and nearly falls while climbing the stairs of Air Force One earlier in New Jersey. pic.twitter.com/py3jktjHcn
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) June 8, 2025
‘NOBODY CARES, THE TELEVISION CAMERAS ARE ON ME’
Relentless with the mockery, Newsom continued the post by referring to President Trump’s upcoming Alaska summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
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“TOMORROW HE’S GOT HIS ‘MEETING’ WITH PUTIN IN ‘RUSSIA,'” Newsom’s press office continued. “NOBODY CARES. ALL THE TELEVISION CAMERAS ARE ON ME, AMERICA’S FAVORITE GOVERNOR. EVEN LOW-RATINGS LAURA INGRAM (EDITS THE TAPES!) CAN’T STOP TALKING ABOUT MY BEAUTIFUL MAPS. YOU’RE WELCOME FOR LIBERATION DAY, AMERICA! DONNIE J MISSED ‘THE DEADLINE’ (WHOOPS!) AND NOW I RUN THE SHOW. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER!”
Amid questions on whether he thought these posts went too far and are unprofessional for an elected governor, Newsom said they were merely highlighting what President Trump posts on Truth Social daily.
“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,” Newsom said to the cameras gathered for his Aug. 4 press conference on redistricting.
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