Gavin Newsom isn't the Democrat we want. But he's the one we need against Trump. | Opinion

California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom seems to be having fun poking at Republicans and President Donald Trump. He’s also making a good point.

He's been trolling Trump on social media, posting in all-caps and sharing ridiculous artificial intelligence images reminiscent of the president’s own posts. On Aug. 17, Newsom lampooned Trump for his “Bela” typo on Truth Social.

“DONALD (TINY HANDS), HAS WRITTEN HIS AUTOBIOGRAPHY THIS MORNING — UNFORTUNATELY (LOW IQ) HE SPELLED IT WRONG — 'BETA,' " the governor's press office shared on X (formerly Twitter). "SOON YOU WILL BE A 'FIRED' BETA BECAUSE OF MY PERFECT, 'BEAUTIFUL MAPS.' THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER! — GCN.”

I don’t totally get the hype around Newsom. I find his stance on trans athletes repugnant and disagree with his decision to platform Steve Bannon and Charlie Kirk on his podcast. He’s not nearly as left-leaning as Republicans want you to believe.

However, though Newsom might not be the Democrat we want, he’s the Democrat we need right now. The California governor may come off like a sleazy politician, but at least he’s our sleazy politician – someone willing to be aggressive and stand up to Trump, or at least point out the obvious flaws in our president by simply doing what Republicans have been praising as leadership.

Texas redistricting gave us this version of Gavin Newsom

The internet beef between Newsom and Trump started when Texas Democrats fled the state in the wake of a special legislative session that would have created five new Republican congressional districts, as ordered by Trump. To counteract this partisan power grab by the Texas GOP, Newsom threatened to create new maps in California that would create more Democratic districts.

When posting about this decision, the governor’s press office decided it was time to commit to a bit.

“DONALD 'TACO' TRUMP,  AS MANY CALL HIM, 'MISSED' THE DEADLINE!!!” Newsom posted on Aug. 12. “CALIFORNIA WILL NOW DRAW NEW, MORE 'BEAUTIFUL MAPS,' THEY WILL BE HISTORIC AS THEY WILL END THE TRUMP PRESIDENCY (DEMS TAKE BACK THE HOUSE!). BIG PRESS CONFERENCE THIS WEEK WITH POWERFUL DEMS AND GAVIN NEWSOM — YOUR FAVORITE GOVERNOR — THAT WILL BE DEVASTATING FOR 'MAGA.' THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER! — GN.”

He didn’t stop there – he also mocked Trump’s “Liberation Day” post with a Liberation Day for California, complete with an AI-generated Time magazine cover that featured Newsom with the headline “LONG LIVE THE KING.”

I can’t lie – it’s kind of funny to see someone on the left make fun of Trump’s signature posting style, hyping up his own prowess while dunking on someone else, all with the caps lock button permanently on. He’s even signing his posts like Trump. It’s surprising that no one has ever thought to do this, but it appears to be paying off for Newsom – it’s getting people in the media talking.

"I'm just following his example," the governor said on Aug. 14. "If you have issues with what I'm putting out, you sure as hell should have concerns with what he's putting out as president."

MAGA is super upset Newsom is mirroring Trump

What’s even funnier about Newsom’s posts is how much they’re triggering the MAGA crowd. Conservative political commentator Tomi Lahren ripped into Newsom on X, saying that “Gavin and his team of beta males who sit down to pee actually think they’re trolling the president and actually think this is making Gavin look like a bad ass.”

This seems to imply that she thinks Trump himself is a badass, which is incredibly funny.

Other pundits on the right are calling for a stop to the madness – as if this isn’t the exact same way the president posts, every single day of the year.

“You have to stop it with the Twitter thing,” Fox News host Dana Perino said. “I don’t know where his wife is. If I were his wife, I would say, ‘You are making a fool of yourself, stop it!’ "

Is that what first lady Melania Trump should be telling her husband? Oh, Perino, it seems you’ve missed the point.

By copying the cadence and stylization of Trump’s posts, Newsom is showing how ridiculous our president’s cult of personality is. It makes our president look foolish – because he is. Again, I’m not one to immediately cheer for anything Newsom does, but clearly, what he’s doing is effective in making Republicans lose their minds.

The question is, will Democrats respond to Newsom?

One thing is also clear – Newsom really, really wants a shot at becoming the Democrats’ presidential nominee in 2028. His posting may be a shot at Trump, but it’s also a way for him to become a household name ahead of the primaries.

The internet loves Newsom – or at least loves to hate him. I can’t see him without visualizing the viral photo of him reading banned books or thinking of the countless posts comparing him to Patrick Bateman from “American Psycho.” There are TikTok accounts making fan edits of him set to Lana Del Rey songs. If you are a Democrat who spends any amount of time discussing politics online, he feels inescapable.

The governor's newfound confidence is helping his chances. An August poll from Echelon Insights shows Newsom with 13% support, up from 4% in April. Despite this improvement, he remains in second place behind former Vice President Kamala Harris, a fellow Californian.

Newsom almost feels like a caricature of a male politician – bombastic and arrogant but fully committed to his party. His newfound social media clout is just another boost in name recognition and could help win over some disaffected Democrats who want to see the party stoop to Trump’s level, for any signs of fighting back. If that’s the case, Newsom may be the party’s best bet for the next presidential election.

Either way, Democrats finally seem to have found the guts to stand up to Trump, even if it means forgoing the moral high ground that Republicans jumped off long ago.

Follow USA TODAY columnist Sara Pequeño on X, formerly Twitter,@sara__pequeno