Sacramento – In a common insult that the Trump administration uses against dissidents of federal policy, the deputy chief of staff of the White House Stephen Miller called a California judge a “communist” After blocked the arrests of itinerant immigration depending on the breed alone.
The epithet embraced by Maga of the official press office of Governor Gavin Newsom in response, however, was hardly typical of a democratic politician.
“This fascist ranting at DC continues its assault on democracy and the constitution, and its attempt to replace the sovereignty of the people by the autocracy”, the office of the governor of California Published on social networks. “Sorry, the Constitution injured your feelings, Stephen. Cry stronger.”
Popular among the extreme right and the gutters of social media, the term is used to insult liberals as weak and is also short for “Cuckold”, which refers to the husband of an unfaithful woman.
The weak blow sanctioned by a potential presidential candidate in 2028 established a new paradigm for the political left which has long adopted the motto “when they go low, we go high” of the motto above the insensitivity of Trump and his acolytes.
It is also an example of Newsom’s more aggressive social media strategy.
This week, the governor Same displayed of Trump with a children’s attacker and a sexual trafficker accused Jeffrey Epstein.
Shortly after the Ministry of Internal Security held and handcuffed the American senator Alex Padilla at a press conference in June, the Member of the State Assembly Joe Patterson (R-Rockland) allegedly alleged that he would be treated in the same way if he interrupted an event organized by the governor.
“I would politely ask you to leave”, Removers Newsom’s communications director, Izzy Gardon. “Although you don’t deserve politeness right now for this grotesque tweet, you’re bald little man.” (Patterson later added “Bald Little Man” to his profile on the social media site.)
The governor and his press office supported by taxpayers joked that HBO had thrown Miller like Lord Voldemort – the super bad pasty and hairless in the stories “Harry Potter” – and laughs at the Attorney General of Texas prey to scandal After accusing Newsom of having fomented anarchy.
The governor defended the more combative posture at a recent press conference. He noted that Steven Cheung, the White House communications director, had used the word last month when he called Newsom “The largest cuck in politics.“”
“I don’t think they understand another type of language, so I have no excuses to keep me big and firm and push their cruelty,” said Newsom.
Newsom advisers say the governor reached a turning point after the president sent troops from the California National Guard to Los Angeles To protect federal agents from clashes with demonstrators during immigration sweeping. Since Trump took office in January, the Democratic chief had made a thin border between calling the president and playing well In the hope of being able to work together after California forest fires.
The governor publicly declared that the decision of militarizing Los Angeles had shown him that You cannot work with the president, only for him. With federal troops on the ground, said his collaborators, Newsom also wanted to defend California, concerned about what would happen if he did not.
The directive was to correspond to the tactics emanating from the White House and to meet Trump and his allies where they are. Forget the high road.
During the last month, they participated in more fights with Newsom criticism, reacted more quickly to shoot down the disinformation on the governor or California, challenged the stories they find false or unfair, and took many of their own shots.
“Sometimes the best way to challenge a tyrant is to hit them in the metaphorical face,” said Bob Salladay, Newsom’s best communication advisor. “These tactics may seem extremely extreme for some and they are, but there is a significant difference here: we target powerful forces that tear this country, using their own words and tactics. Trump and Stephen Miller attack helplessness like each fascist intimidator in front of them.”
Newsom employees say the strategy is working.
Governor’s personal social media accounts have won 2.3 million new subscribers, including more than a million each on Tiktok and Instagram, and more than 883 million views from June 6 to 6, according to their counts.
Podcasters and influencers of social media, such as Fred Wellman and Brian Tyler Cohen, aroused interest with their own articles on the governor. On Tiktok in particular, there is an increasing ecosystem of people who make videos on his videos.
Newsom’s official state accounts have also experienced an exponential increase in subscribers and commitment in June.
Attention augurs well for a politician who plans an offer for the president. His aid maintains that the strategy benefits California by closing disinformation and helping people understand what is really going on.
“What he does so well these days is that he responds quickly, and he responds quickly to the average consumer of news,” said Karen North, digital social media teacher at the USC Annenberg USC Communication and Journalism School.
North stressed the adage that “it takes a minute to say a sound bite, but an hour to explain why it is false”.
Republicans have been considered masters of sound bites for decades, and Democrats are often criticized for trying to explain the details of politicians when people just want to hear the results.
Newsom breaks this mold, she said.
“He has become the person who wants and capable of taking care of the president, but in some ways, they use the same game of fast and engaging responses which are easy to understand for people without any analysis,” said North. “Newsom has the advantage of playing defense as an offensive. So when the president says something problematic for California or problematic for everyday citizens, Gavin Newsom is focused on the laser and ready to retaliate without any hesitation, and in a very simple and very engaging way. “
In some respects, the governor learned the hard time after Trump used his platforms to qualify Newsom as “incompetent” and blame him for Los Angeles forest fires in January. The President made a barrage of complaints during press conferences and on the social media site Truth Social on dry tanks, the need to transfer more water from north to south of California, a lack of forest management and empty fire terminals that have become viral, leaving Newsom on the rear foot.
When Trump sent the National Guard to Los Angeles, the governor almost immediately attacks to counter the president’s claims that he deployed troops to control the anarchy that Newsom had authorized. The governor’s office declared his speech on June 10, which Framed Trump as unnecessarily invasive an American city for its own political gainreceived 41 million views.
Although Newsom’s assault has received praise from certain Democrats, it is also a “massive pivot to be a Bannon Bro,” said Eric Jaye, a former Newsom adviser who has become a critic who opposed his candidacy for the 2018 governor.
Jaye refers to the podcast “This is Gavin Newsom”, where the governor won the Democrats who thought they were appearing too chimmmy with the architect of the Trump Steve Bannon campaign, the conservative personality Charlie Kirk and others close to the president.
Newsom presented the show as an opportunity to speak to people with other points of view and it Delivered on this premise. The governor also received criticism from his own party not to force the prospects that directly contradicted democratic values, such as opposition to abortion rights, and Cmit with Kirk that it is unfair to transgender athletes to participate in female sports.
Jaye credited Newsom from “a very fast turnaround”, which “saved”.
But now, with its amplified presence on social networks, Newsom covers the risk of offending voters who are missing a respectful political discourse.
Trump’s derogatory nicknames for his opponents, such as calling Newsom “Newscum” or Elizabeth Warren “Pocahontas”, did not seem to cause a lot of political damage to the president. He kissed songs on Hillary Clinton in 2016 “Lock-Her Up” in 2016 and constantly made fun of Joe Biden before the former president withdrew the 2024 presidential competition. Trump has always won the two races.
North said Trump also had the advantage of saying things that seem “passionate and reckless”, but people do not believe that he will follow.
As a potential presidential candidate, the question is whether Newsom can use words such as “Cuck” and say that he wants to change the laws to redisturize California for the benefit of democrats in the mid-term without worrying people and seeming too similar to Trump to be acceptable for voters who hate the president’s buffoonemeries.
“It must be disturbing for many people if the new era of politics involves hostile personal attacks,” said North.
The staff writer Seema Mehta contributed to this report.
