Overview

• Trump unleashed a late-night stream of digitally altered and AI-generated clips on Truth Social, later reposted to X, targeting Gavin Newsom, Adam Schiff, JB Pritzker and Chris Christie.
• Posts included a video portraying Newsom wearing a red “Trump 2028” hat and another showing a Newsom lookalike flailing at a punching bag with Trump’s face.
• Newsom and his press office fired back on X with AI-edited memes, including a Life Alert parody about Trump’s health, a diapered baby Trump placed behind bars, and an unflattering image of the president.
• In Oval Office remarks, Trump called Newsom “grossly incompetent,” entertained a pro-MAGA reporter’s question about a congressional probe into Newsom’s handling of the Pacific Palisades fires, and repeated a water-supply claim described as unsupported by Newsom; the governor responded with a “dementia” jab.
• The online clash sits atop ongoing legal battles, including a Tuesday ruling by U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer that Trump’s June federalization of National Guard forces in Los Angeles was illegal, as Newsom’s aggressive digital strategy boosts his national profile ahead of 2028 polling.