Gavin Newsom Is Having a Social Media Moment, But He's Still a Creep
I have spent a lot of time in the car lately. I’ve just returned from a trip Up North (which, in Michigan, is basically anything above the Zilwaukee bridge) where I spent time with my wife and son, my mom, my three sisters and their respective spouses, and three little kids. It was a nice trip. But I’m exhausted.
One thing I didn’t spend much time doing while Up North was paying a lot of attention to the news. But now that I am home I see that people are talking about California Gov. Gavin Newsom a lot. And, honestly, that is making me feel even more exhausted.
In case you missed it, Newsom’s office has been “trolling” Trump by posting on X in a style that mirrors Trump’s own ALL CAPS rants on Truth Social, even ending the posts with, “THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER,” which is Trump’s sign off.
“DONALD ‘TACO’ TRUMP, AS MANY CALL HIM, ‘MISSED’ THE DEADLINE!!! CALIFORNIA WILL NOW DRAW NEW, MORE ‘BEAUTIFUL MAPS,’ THEY WILL BE HISTORIC AS THEY WILL END THE TRUMP PRESIDENCY (DEMS TAKE BACK THE HOUSE!),” Newsom’s office posted on Aug 12.
Now, if this all sounds like a string of nonsense to you, congratulations on practicing self-care. Let me attempt to explain. “TACO” means “Trump Always Chickens Out,” which cropped up during the rollout of the Trump tariffs. “The deadline” refers to a letter Newsom sent to Trump asking him to call off redistricting plans in Texas that are aimed to boost the number of Republican seats in the state, thereby sealing the deal on a Republican congressional majority in the 2026 midterm elections. Trump did no such thing, thus Newsom is moving ahead with plans to play the same trick in California in order to increase the number of blue seats in the state in order to get a Democratic majority in the 2026 midterm elections.
On Aug. 14, Newsom’s office posted, "DONALD IS FINISHED — HE IS NO LONGER ‘HOT,’” throwing in a dig at Trump’s hand size (“SO TINY”).
The response to these X posts have been what you’d probably expect: pissing off Trump supporters and causing the Blue Wave social media sphere much glee.
On Bluesky I’m seeing posts that say things like, “#GavinNewsom is the hero America needs right now!” and “In a world full of Donald Trumps, be a Gavin Newsom.”
I wish I could share this enthusiasm, I really do. It would be so nice to feel some glimmer of hope right now. But I sure as hell am not finding hope in Gavin Newsom.
Granted, I used to think quite highly of the guy. Back in 2004, when Newsom was the mayor of San Francisco, he gave the go-ahead to the city clerk to issue marriage licenses for same-sex couples. It was a BFD! This move, though eventually smacked down by the courts, led to legal marriage equality in California in 2008.
Apparently Newsom thought he could use this undeniably cool move to make liberals fall for him forever and ever. So much so that in just the last couple of years alone, he has done some pretty unforgivable shit. First, as Governor he basically banned being homeless. In fact, he personally helped clear away homeless encampments in California, throwing away all the worldly possessions of unhoused people.
Then he started a podcast in which he interviewed right-wing extremists like Charlie Kirk and Steve Bannon, giving them a free platform for their heinous ideas. During his interview with Kirk, Newsom essentially agreed with Kirk on transgender issues, including transgender athletes saying, “I think it's an issue of fairness; I completely agree with you on that. It is an issue of fairness, it's deeply unfair."
Now maybe, MAYBE, if the right’s entire issue with transgender people was centered on sports and sports alone, Newsom’s response could be interpreted as kind of reasonable. Except that the right’s concern with transgender people, especially trans women, isn’t that sometimes they play tennis, it’s that they exist at all. Remember, the right’s whole trans panic began in the bathroom. They didn’t want trans women to be allowed in women’s restrooms. And, of course, they still don’t. They also don’t want trans people to be around children, serve in the military or have access to healthcare.
They want to erase trans people entirely, from our history, our present and our future. And THAT is deeply unfair, Gov. Newsom. That is what you should have said to Kirk (though not inviting him on your show would’ve been even better).
So, yeah, Newsom may be having a moment. But if the guy won’t protect the homeless or trans people, what the hell makes you think he’ll protect you?
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