When California Governor Gavin Newsom’s press office hit “post” on Aug. 12, the message looked like it came from a different politician entirely. “Final warning Donald Trump,” it began, complete with ALL CAPS, MAGA-style threats and self-praise calling Newsom “the most loved & handsome governor.” The target was obvious. The strategy was new.
On Aug. 12, 2025, Newsom’s press office posted on X:
“FINAL WARNING DONALD TRUMP – MAYBE THE MOST IMPORTANT WARNING IN HISTORY! STOP CHEATING OR CALIFORNIA WILL REDRAW THE MAPS. AND GUESS WHO WILL ANNOUNCE IT THIS WEEK? GAVIN NEWSOM (MANY SAY THE MOST LOVED & HANDSOME GOVERNOR) AND A VERY POWERFUL TEAM. DON’T MAKE US DO IT!!! THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER.”
In recent posts like this, Newsom has been imitating President Trump by using all caps, Make America Great Again (MAGA) phrases, threats and personal praise reflecting Trump’s own posts.
All of Newsom’s strikes at Trump were an attempt to get eyes on the bigger issue that was Proposition 50, which appeared on the ballot Nov. 4. Proposition 50 passed with 63.9% in favor and 36.1% voting against, with about 90% of votes counted. Voter turnout was much higher than expected. The measure allows California to redraw its districts to favor the Democratic Party and gain more seats in the House of Representatives.
According to AP Government teacher Mr. Robert Docter, Newsom is imitating the way President Trump and his team post on X in an effort to find a new audience.
“Newsom is trying to find a new voter base to appeal to,” Mr. Docter said. “He’s definitely inspired by the whole new podcasting trend and is trying to appeal to young male voters who listen to these podcasts. I think it’s definitely intentional with what he is doing. We always have to ask ourselves with these sorts of posts who they are trying to target and who they’re trying to appeal to get on their side.”
But Newsom’s efforts don’t seem to be going to waste as they have brought major attention to his social media page. Since Aug. 1, 2025, Newsom’s X account has gained over 250,000 followers, according to ABC 7.
Also according to ABC 7, his account has also gained an engagement rate of more than 50% and more than 1.5 million profile visits.
This boost in attention toward Governor Newsom even got President Trump to respond to his mimicry.
On Aug. 20, 2025, President Trump posted on his Truth Social account: “Gavin Newscum is way down in the polls. He is viewed as the man who is destroying the once great state of California. I will save California!!! President DJT.”
Mr. Docter explained that all this social media buzz is just another tactic by whoever manages the governor’s or the president’s online presence.
“I think Trump tries to get reactions via his posts,” Mr. Docter explained. “Presidents tend to have a lot of ‘energy’ meaning that they have a lot of eyes on them, and he takes advantage of that more than any president on social media. He uses it to have engagement whether it’s positive or negative, and I believe that he enjoys both.”
While this form of engagement might just be a tactic for attracting attention, Newsom has also received backlash for imitating the president’s online actions.
“I hope it’s a wake-up call to the president of the United States following his example,” Newsom said during a press conference related to political tensions. “If you have issues with what I’m putting out, you sure as hell should have concerns about what he’s putting out as President. To the extent it’s gotten attention, I’m pleased. The deeper question is how have we allowed the normalization of his tweets, Truth Social posts over the course of the last many years to go without similar scrutiny and notice?”
Mr. Docter further explains that this new tactic could garner more support for Newsom.
“Because he’s trying to ‘rally up’ people who aren’t involved in any political party, I think he will get more people on his side,” Mr. Docter said.
This battle between these two political figures could affect young voters’ decisions on Prop 50.
“If what he’s doing is coming up among 18-year-olds or even at dinner tables I think it will affect people’s votes,” Mr. Docter said.
In a poll by the UC Berkeley Institute of Government Studies for the L.A. Times conducted before the election, the survey found that 46% of voters believed redistricting was a good idea, 36% believed it was a bad idea and 18% had no opinion on the issue. Although Newsom’s new approach hadn’t drastically shifted voters’ opinions on redistricting at that time, 59% said that he should continue the behavior of mimicking Trump, 29% said he should take a more cooperative stance against Trump.
The social media campaign succeeded in bringing attention to Newsom and Proposition 50, and the measure’s passage suggests the strategy may have helped persuade voters to support the redistricting effort.
This article originally appeared in the Fall 2025 print edition.
