For the Trump White House, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
As White House officials watched California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) mirror President Trump’s rhetoric and social media persona this past week, they say it didn’t land the way it was intended.
“If he wanted to get under President Trump’s skin, it didn’t work,” said one Trump ally. “I think everyone around here viewed it as comical.”
“Let’s face it, there’s only one Trump,” the ally said.
Newsom for more than a week has sought to mimic Trump’s bombastic social media missives, borrowing words such as “beautiful” from the president’s vocabulary and writing social media posts in all caps. He’s had an in-your-face attitude with Republicans from administration officials to right-leaning media personalities that is positively Trumpian.
Democrats — thirsty for not only leadership but a political boxing match — have relished Newsom’s strategy. All week, strategists lauded the efforts saying it was about time someone stood up to Trump in a meaningful way.
But Republicans say Newsom’s antics are contrived, if not over the top. In an interview on Fox News earlier this past week, Vice President Vance accused Newsom of being inauthentic.
“The idea that Gavin Newsom is somehow going to mimic Donald Trump’s style, I think that ignores the fundamental genius of President Trump’s political success, which is that he’s authentic,” Vance said. “He just is who he is. You got to be yourself. You actually got to talk to people about the issues. I don’t think it’s that complicated.”
Other Republicans share that view.
“I will be surprised if the president is worried about Newsom, and if he is, he shouldn’t,” said Shermichael Singleton, a Republican strategist who worked in the first Trump administration. “Newsom is leading a state with some of the worst political positions for Democrats that have absolutely been rejected by the American people in the recent presidential election.”
“From cultural issues to political ones, California is not a model to be replicated,” Singleton said. “Look no further than the Democratic Party’s approval, so why allow the guy who’s in charge of a state with extremely unpopular positions get under your skin?”
On Thursday morning, Trump threatened to defund California school districts that don’t abide by his executive order banning transgender women and girls from participating in women’s and girls’ sports.
“Any California school district that doesn’t adhere to our Transgender policies, will not be funded,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. “Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
Some Democrats — and quietly a few Republicans — saw this as the president taking a purposeful shot at Newsom.
“Look, I like the president but he has moments of weakness when he lets a political fight get the best of him,” one Republican operative said. “He doesn’t let a shot go unanswered. That’s just his style.”
On Wednesday night, Trump took to Truth Social to take aim at Newsom.
“Gavin Newsom is way down in the polls,” he wrote in the post. “He’s viewed as the man who is destroying the once Great State of California. I will save California!!!”
Still, the White House has largely dismissed Newsom’s latest line of attack as attention-seeking and a sign of obsession with the president.
One White House spokesperson circulated a meme from the show “Mad Men” to mock Newsom, suggesting the governor was fixated on Trump while the president was ignoring the Democrat.
One source close to the White House joked that Newsom’s imitation was “the greatest form of flattery.” But the source acknowledged that even if Newsom’s tactics don’t bother the White House, they are boosting the California governor’s profile as a Trump foil.
“The White House sees what he’s doing as nonsense and as the greatest form of flattery,” the source said. “It’s working for Newsom, the only question is, I don’t think Newsom can one-trick pony his way to the Democratic nomination.”
So far, Newsom’s strategy appears to be working.
A poll released this past week by Echelon Insights showed Newsom in second place behind former Vice President Kamala Harris among likely potential 2028 candidates. Harris received 26 percent of support among respondents and Newsom received 13 percent support in the poll conducted Aug. 14-18.
A separate poll by Politico-Citrin Center-Possibility Lab among California Democrats revealed that those in the Golden State preferred Newsom over Harris, 25 percent to 19 percent.
Newsom, seemingly aware of the support he’s been receiving, shows no signs of stopping, particularly as he has been at the center of the media spotlight with his redistricting efforts in California.
“TODAY WE WILL MAKE THE MAPS GREAT AGAIN,” he wrote this past week on social platform X.
The governor teased Friday that he would soon start selling hats that read “Newsom Was Right About Everything,” a play on hats Trump has worn.
Trump, who is aware of the fanfare around Newsom, took yet another shot at the governor.
“I know Gavin really well,” Trump said. “He’s an incompetent guy with a good line of bulls‑‑‑, and he doesn’t get the job done.”
