Gavin Newsom, the governor of California, has been gaining traction recently in his combatance with the Trump administration’s policies. By making public appearances and attempting to redistrict California, Newsom is taking a stand against President Donald Trump with a level of sass and persistence that isn’t very prevalent in current events. However, an interesting tactic that his team is taking advantage of is social media. Here’s what you need to know about what’s happening on Newsom’s TikTok and X accounts, and why it’s so important.
If you keep up with current events, you’ve seen some of the wild things President Trump says, whether in person or online. Since Trump’s first administration in 2016, he has developed a reputation for being outspoken, whether that’s at press conferences, on X, or his Truth Social account.
More recently, this dialect has featured sporadic uses of caps lock, and the ending of posts with ‘Thank you for your attention to this matter! And then signing off President DJT as if this is a letter or formal public statement. Regardless, these features of his public persona are highly ironic in comparison to the overly casual and unprofessional facets of the message itself. Gavin Newsom’s publicity team has caught onto this pattern, and has taken an interesting approach of public resistance through parody.
This doesn’t stop simply with Trump’s writing style, either. When the White House released a post on X with an AI depiction of the president as royalty, the public was stunned. This post featured the phrase “LONG LIVE THE KING,” which contradicts the very core of American ideals — the rule of the people.
Newsom’s team definitely did not let that slide. In September, they released another parody post, this time including an AI-generated photo of Newsom in addition to mocking his dialect. The aim of these posts seems to be calling the President out for his lack of professionalism, and demanding more from the leaders of America.
As I mentioned earlier, it’s no secret that the President’s actions have been used as a method of entertainment and a site of ridicule — an example of this being the infamous Trump impression. Especially in left-wing culture, it’s common to see media outlets using Trump’s outlandish and cartoonish actions as a point of conversation. But we haven’t seen this in politicians’ behavior — at least not actions that have become so mainstream. By posting on X in this way, Newsom’s team is taking an interesting approach to expressing disdain for the current administration. It’s also interesting to consider the audience he is trying to reach here. With the main age demographic of X being people in their mid-twenties to early-thirties, this could be an interesting attempt to rally support from young adults for a possible future presidential run. With the current state of America, many left-wing voters are looking for a leader to counter the Trump administration — and Newsom could be trying to show his potential to be that leader.
That’s not all. Newsom’s team is also active on TikTok, using current trends and Gen Z’s sense of humor to mock President Trump.
This is similar to Vice President Kamala Harris’s TikTok campaign last year, when she was rallying support for the 2024 presidential race. Unlike on X, It doesn’t look like the aim with Newsom’s TikTok posts is to mock Trump through parody, but more so to appeal to the younger generations of America.
If we’re looking at Newsom’s PR team’s posts as attempts to rally prospective voter support, they’re definitely covering their bases. Nearly 70% of TikTok users are between the ages of 18-34, which expands the bounds of the politician’s outreach on X.
Across platforms, Newsom’s team is working around the clock. Not only are their posts incredibly frequent, but they’re also right on target. Their methods of navigating both the denotation of the actual posts they put out, as well as how they want it to come across, are incredibly creative. Not afraid to say what left-wing voters have been concerned about since Trump’s first time in office, Newsom is outwardly criticizing the current administration for its actions against the interests of the people and the dictatorial effect their actions have on the nation as a whole. With this trajectory, I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that Newsom is trying to gain support for a possible presidential run in 2028. Based on his current momentum and placement in mainstream media, the California Governor is well on track to gain a spot on the democratic ticket in a couple of years, and the nuance and dedication of his team are to thank for this catapult into the public eye.