SACROMENTO — The common insult the Trump administration uses against federal policy dissidents, with Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller calling California judges “communists.”
But accordingly, Maga-Braced Epithet, the official news office of Gavin Gavin Newsom, was barely typical for democratic politicians.
“This fascist kak in DC continues his attacks on democracy and the constitution, and his attempts to replace people’s sovereignty with dictatorship,” the California governor’s office posted on social media. “I’m sorry, but the Constitution hurts your feelings, Stephen. I’m crying.”
Popular in the far right and social media gap, the term stands for “cuccord,” which is used to disgrace the Liberal Party as a weak one, referring to the husband of a dishonest wife.
The low blow, approved by a potential 2028 presidential candidate, sets a new paradigm for the political left that has long embraced Michelle Obama’s “When they go low, we’ll be high” motto, rising beyond the ruthlessness of Trump and his acolite.
It is also an example of Newsom’s more aggressive social media strategy.
This week, the governor posted a meme about child molestation and Trump, denounced sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
Shortly after the Department of Homeland Security detained and handcuffed Sen. Alex Padilla at a June press conference, state legislator Joe Patterson (R-Rockland) argued that the governor would be treated the same as if he had suspended an event he had held.
“I ask you to leave politely,” retorted Newsom’s communications director Izzy Gardon. “Not worthy of politeness at this moment, but this grotesque tweet bangs a little guy.” (Patterson later added “Bald Little Man” to his profile on social media sites.)
The governor and his taxpayer support news outlets joked that HBO had cast Miller as Lord Voldemort. A paste-like, hairless super bildren from the Harry Potter story, giggling at the scandal-plagued Texas lawyer general after accusing Newsom of kicking outlaws.
The governor defended a more combative stance at a recent press conference. He said White House communications director Stephen Chung used the term last month when he called Newsom “the biggest cuck in politics.”
“I don’t think they understand other types of languages, so I don’t apologise for standing tall and firm and pushing them back into their cruelty,” Newsom said.
Newsom’s advisor says the governor reached a tipping point after the president sent California State Guard troops to Los Angeles to protect federal agents from clashes with protesters during the immigration sweep. Since Trump took office in January, Democratic leaders have been walking the tiny line between calling out the president and playing well, hoping they can work together after the California wildfires.
The governor publicly said the decision to militarize Los Angeles showed him that he could not work with the president just for him. In his aides, when the federal forces were on the ground, Newsom also said he wanted to stand up to California.
The order was to match tactics emanating from the White House and meet Trump and his allies. Forget the high roads.
Last month, they took on more battles with Newsom’s critics, responded more quickly to shoot down misinformation about the governor and California, challenged stories they thought were untrue or unfair, and took many of their shots.
“Sometimes, the best way to challenge bullies is to slap them on a comparative face,” said Bob Salade, Newsom’s top communications advisor. “Though these tactics may seem extreme to some, there is a huge difference here: we use our own words and tactics to target the powerful forces that rip through this country.
Newsom’s Aides says the strategy is working.
The governor’s personal social media accounts have gained 2.3 million new followers on Tiktok and Instagram, each with over 1 million viewers, with over 883 million viewers from June 6th to July 6th.
Podcasters and social media influencers such as Fred Wellman and Brian Tyler Cohen have raised interest with their own posts about the governor. In particular, Tiktok has seen an ecosystem of people making videos about his videos.
Newsom’s official state account also experienced exponential growth and engagement in followers in June.
Considering bids for the president, attention has been improved for politicians. His aides argue that the strategy benefits California by shutting down misinformation and helping people understand what is actually happening.
“What he’s doing well recently is to be able to respond quickly and respond quickly so that he can have a very light meal to the average news consumer,” said Karen North, professor of digital social media at the USC Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism.
North pointed to the saying, “It takes a minute to say a soundbite, but an hour to explain why it’s wrong.”
Republicans have been seen as masters of sound for decades, and Democrats are often criticized for trying to explain the details of their policy just because they want to hear the end result.
Newsom is breaking that mold, she said.
“He has appeared as someone who willing to take on the president, but in a way he uses a playbook of quick and engaging responses that people can understand without analysis,” North said. “Newsom has the advantage of defending as an offense. So when the president says that it’s problematic for California or that it’s problematic for everyday citizens, Gavin Newsom is focused on lasers and ready to go back without hesitation in a very simple and engaging way.”
In a way, the governor learned the toughest ways after Trump used his platform to label Newsom “incompetent” and blamed him for a Los Angeles wildfire in January. The president left Newsom to protect his back by making social social claims for news conferences and the truth of social media sites, the arid reservoir, the need to transfer water from Northern California to Southern California, lack of forest management and empty fire hydrants.
When Trump sent the National Guard to Los Angeles, the governor almost immediately made an attack, countering the president’s claim that he deployed troops to control the lawlessness that Newsom had allowed. The governor’s office said his June 10 speech framed Trump as an unnecessarily invading American cities for his own political interests.
Newsom’s attack has been praised by some Democrats, but it is also a “large pivot from being a Bannon ally.”
Jay mentions the “This is Gavin Newsom” podcast. The governor flushes Democrats whom he thought looked too uncomfortable with others close to the president, including Trump campaign architect Steve Bannon and conservative character Charlie Kirk.
Newsom charged the show as an opportunity to talk to people with other perspectives, and he provided that premise. The governor also received criticism from within his party for directly contradicting democratic values, such as opposing the right to abortion, and for not emphasizing the perspective of agreeing with Kirk that it is unfair for trans athletes to compete in women’s sports.
Jay believed in Newsom that he “saved himself” with a “very fast turnaround.”
But now, his upsurge of social media presence puts Newsom at risk of voters missing out on respectful political discourse.
Trump’s mildly rogical nicknames to his enemies, such as Newsom’s “Newscome” and Elizabeth Warren’s “Pocahontas,” do not seem to cause much political harm to the president. He accepted “Rock Her Her Chorus” about Hillary Clinton in 2016, and always laughed at Joe Biden before the former president dropped out of the 2024 presidential contest. Trump still won both races.
North said Trump also has the advantage of saying things that look “passionate and reckless,” but people don’t believe he’ll follow.
The question as a potential presidential candidate is whether Newsom can use words like “cuck” and say he wants to change the law to redeem California, benefit Democrats in the midterm elections without worrying about people.
“If a new era of politics involves hostile personal attacks, it has to get in the way of many,” North said.
Times staff writer Seema Mehta contributed to this report.
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