# Gavin Newsoms Press Office Copying Trump > Gavin Newsoms Press Office Copying Trump is an August 2025 X campaign where California's official press office posted bombastic all-caps Trump-style rhetoric mixed with AI-edited parody images. In August 2025, California Governor Gavin Newsom's official press office account @GovPressOffice began posting on X in a style deliberately mimicking President Donald Trump's signature all-caps, bombastic social media rhetoric. The posts, which mixed political messaging about California's redistricting response to Texas gerrymandering with Trump-style taunts and AI-edited parody images, went viral and sparked debate about whether Democrats could beat Trump at his own meme game[3]. Run by Newsom's communications team, the account became one of the most talked-about political social media operations of mid-2025. ## Origin On August 11, 2025, the @GovPressOffice account posted a tweet written in Trump's signature all-caps style, threatening to redistrict California in response to Texas Republicans' push for five additional U.S. House seats[4]. The post pulled in 5 million views and 96,000 likes[4]. The next day, August 12, the account doubled down with a post calling Trump "DONALD 'TACO' TRUMP, AS MANY CALL HIM," with TACO standing for "Trump Always Chickens Out"[3]. The post announced that Trump had "'MISSED' THE DEADLINE" and that California would "DRAW NEW, MORE 'BEAUTIFUL MAPS'"[4]. The account was run by Izzy Gardon, Newsom's Director of Communications, and Camille Harper Zapata, his Digital Director[4]. Newsom himself acknowledged the strategy on August 14 when reporters asked about his office "clearly trolling the president." His response: "I hope it's a wake-up call for the President. I'm just following his example"[3]. A video of that exchange, posted by X user @Acyn, pulled over 2 million views and 74,000 likes in five days[4]. - **Platform:** X (Twitter), @GovPressOffice account - **Creator:** Izzy Gardon (Director of Communications), Camille Harper Zapata (Digital Director) - **Date:** 2025 ## Overview Gavin Newsom's Press Office Copying Trump refers to a series of posts from the official California Governor's Press Office account (@GovPressOffice) that deliberately aped President Trump's distinctive social media style. The posts used all-caps formatting, Trump's habit of signing off with initials, references to his repeated claims about deserving the Nobel Peace Prize, and phrases like "THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER"[4]. The account also posted AI-generated images recreating well-known Trump imagery, including parodies of the "King Trump" post and the Trump raised fist photo[4]. The trolling campaign was tied to a real policy fight. Newsom was pushing California's "Election Rigging Response Act," a redistricting measure designed to counter a Trump-backed effort in Texas to redraw congressional maps in Republicans' favor[1]. But the over-the-top posting style turned what could have been dry policy news into viral political entertainment, drawing millions of views per post[3]. ## How It Spread The account hit its stride in the days following the initial post. On August 14, @GovPressOffice mocked the White House's "King Trump" image with a post reading "A SUCCESSFUL LIBERATION DAY! THANK YOU!" The "Liberation Day" language was a jab at Trump's use of the same phrase for his April tariff rollout[3]. The post grabbed 69,000 likes in five days[4]. On August 15, the account took aim at Trump's Nobel Peace Prize fixation, posting: "MANY PEOPLE ARE SAYING — AND I AGREE — THAT I, GAVIN C. NEWSOM (AMERICA'S FAVORITE GOVERNOR) DESERVE THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE. WHY? BECAUSE OF THE 'MOST INCREDIBLE MAPS IN THE HISTORY OF MAPPING' (EVEN COLUMBUS)"[4]. August 16 brought a post featuring Newsom pointing at Trump's chest, captioned: "TINY HANDS IS OUT HERE COPYING ME -- BUT WITHOUT THE STAMINA (SAD), AND CERTAINLY WITHOUT THE 'LOOKS.' TOTAL BETA! -- GCN"[4]. The sign-off "GCN" mirrored Trump's habit of ending posts with "DJT." The biggest single moment came on August 17. The account responded to gay conservative influencer Scott Presler with "thank you, Nancy Mace," comparing him to the Republican congresswoman[4]. Conservative commentator Tomi Lahren fired back, accusing the press office of trolling "a gay conservative and call him a woman" while Newsom's state "rant and rave on a daily basis about protecting gay people"[4]. The @GovPressOffice reply was two words: "you sound woke." That response ratioed Lahren's post with 46,000 likes versus her 3,000[4]. Fox News also stepped into the fray when it asked for comment after Newsom said Texas Governor Greg Abbott "rolled over for Trump." Since Abbott uses a wheelchair, Fox treated the phrasing as a potential disability slur. Gardon's response went viral: "No. But how woke of you to ask! I'm sorry Greg's feelings were hurt. Poor guy — we hope he recovers"[3]. ## How to Use The @GovPressOffice format typically involves writing political messaging in Trump's distinctive style: 1. **All-caps text** for the entire post, or at least key phrases 2. **Nicknames and insults** modeled on Trump's, like "DONALD 'TACO' TRUMP" or "TINY HANDS" 3. **Self-aggrandizing asides** in Trump's voice, e.g., "(AMERICA'S FAVORITE GOVERNOR)" 4. **Trailing initials** like "GCN" (mirroring Trump's "DJT") 5. **Closing with** "THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER" or similar Trumpian sign-offs 6. **Parenthetical editorial comments** like "(SAD)" or "(LEGALLY!)" ## Cultural Impact The @GovPressOffice account became a focal point in the broader debate about whether Democrats could compete in what Newsweek called "the online attention wars"[3]. Strategist Mike Madrid argued Newsom was "disrupting that model, one meme at a time" and "showing Democrats they don't have to play defense on social media"[3]. The New York Times ran a lengthy feature on Newsom's Trump parody merchandise, quoting academics on what it all meant[2]. The operation drew coverage across the political spectrum, from Newsweek and The Guardian to Naked Capitalism and Liberty Nation[5]. The strategy also fed into a larger pattern of Democrats adopting more aggressive online tactics. Madrid noted that Democrats "from Arizona's Ruben Gallego, a centrist, to New York's Zohran Mamdani, a socialist, have thrived by taking their own aggressive stances"[3]. The Newsom account was the most visible example of this shift, turning a governor's press office into must-follow political entertainment. Horse-race sports bettors at The Hill ranked Newsom number one in the Democratic primary as of September 2025[2]. ## Fun Facts - The first @GovPressOffice Trump-style post hit 5 million views, making it one of the most-viewed tweets from any U.S. governor's account that week[4] - Newsom chose the Japanese American National Museum's National Center for the Preservation of Democracy as the venue for his redistricting announcement specifically for its symbolic resonance[1] - The signed $100 Bible on Newsom's merch site was a direct parody of Trump's "God Bless the USA" Bibles sold in 2024, though Newsom's PAC never confirmed how many copies actually sold[2] - One political analyst compared Newsom to Alcibiades, the ancient Athenian politician known for being talented, charismatic, shameless, and entirely self-interested[2] ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Gavin Newsom's Press Office Copying Trump? It's a viral social media strategy where California Governor Newsom's official press office account (@GovPressOffice) posted on X using President Trump's signature all-caps, insult-heavy, self-aggrandizing posting style to promote California's redistricting efforts and troll the president[4]. ### Where did Gavin Newsom's Press Office Copying Trump come from? It started on August 11, 2025, when @GovPressOffice posted a Trump-style all-caps threat about redistricting California, pulling 5 million views[4]. ### What does Gavin Newsom's Press Office Copying Trump mean? The posts use Trump's own rhetorical style against him, combining real policy messaging about congressional redistricting with parody insults and AI-generated images to draw attention to Newsom's political opposition[3]. ### How do you use Gavin Newsom's Press Office Copying Trump? Write in all-caps, add self-congratulatory asides, use Trumpian nicknames and parenthetical commentary like "(SAD)," and sign off with initials. The format works for any satirical political messaging[4]. ### Is Gavin Newsom's Press Office Copying Trump still popular? As of late 2025, the account is still active and posting, and Newsom's polling in the 2028 Democratic primary rose sharply alongside the strategy[3]. ### Who runs the @GovPressOffice account? The account is run by Izzy Gardon, Newsom's Director of Communications, and Camille Harper Zapata, his Digital Director[4]. ### What was the "you sound woke" moment? When Tomi Lahren criticized @GovPressOffice for comparing gay conservative Scott Presler to Nancy Mace, the account replied "you sound woke," ratioing Lahren's post 46,000 likes to 3,000[4]. ### What is the TACO nickname? The account coined "DONALD 'TACO' TRUMP," with TACO standing for "Trump Always Chickens Out," and used it in multiple posts about the redistricting fight[3]. ### How did this affect Newsom's polling? Newsom rose from 3 percent in March 2025 to 7 percent in June to 10-11 percent by mid-July in Democratic primary polls, with strategists crediting his aggressive online posture[3]. ### What happened with the border patrol agents at Newsom's press conference? On August 14, 2025, armed and masked federal border patrol agents fanned out around the venue where Newsom was announcing his redistricting plan. Newsom called it "sick and pathetic" intimidation ordered by Trump; DHS said it was routine enforcement[1]. ### What merchandise did Newsom sell? His Campaign for Democracy PAC sold items in Trump-signature red with slogans like "Newsom was right about everything" and a signed $100 Bible parodying Trump's own Bible sales[2]. ## References 1. [Newsom says California will push to redraw maps in riposte to Texas plan | California | The Guardian]() 2. [Gavin Newsom weaponizes cringe in dark woke attacks on Trump]() 3. [Gavin Newsom Breaks Through by Trolling Trump at His Own Meme Game - Newsweek]() 4. [Gavin Newsom's Press Office Copying Trump - Know Your Meme]() 5. [Protests against Donald Trump]() 6. [Gavin Newsom Has Two Cards to Play: Distraction and Mocking Trump - Liberty Nation News | Liberty Nation]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/gavin-newsoms-press-office-copying-trump Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library