Overview

• California Governor Gavin Newsom has escalated an online strategy that mimics the president’s style, featuring all-caps posts, insult nicknames, AI-styled imagery, and cheeky merchandise.
• The approach has energized many Democrats and infuriated Maga figures, with Fox News hosts deriding the tactic and Trump reviving a derogatory nickname after previously suggesting Newsom should be arrested.
• Newsom’s press team has responded in kind on social platforms, using satirical language to needle critics and amplify the exchanges into viral moments.
• Some coverage credits digital director Camille Zapata with shaping the creative strategy, as the campaign translates attention into follower growth and small-dollar fundraising.
• Commentators link the online offensive to a broader political play that includes a California redistricting push opposed to Republican gerrymanders, with Barack Obama praising that plan and critics warning the meme warfare corrodes discourse.