California Governor Gavin Newsom isn’t backing down from Donald Trump — in fact, he says he’s ready to “punch this bully in the mouth.”
In a fiery press call on Wednesday, Newsom unloaded on Trump, defending his aggressive online trolling and pushing back against what he sees as a dangerous shift in American politics.
“It’s not about whether we play hardball anymore — it’s about how we play hardball,” Newsom told The Daily Beast. “We are going to fight back and we’re going to punch this bully in the mouth.”
Newsom’s comments come as political tensions rise over redistricting. Trump recently called on Texas Republicans to redraw their congressional maps to create five new GOP-leaning seats. In response, Newsom is pushing to add up to five Democratic-leaning seats in California — turning the fight into a redistricting war ahead of the midterms.
But it’s not just about maps. Newsom has gone viral with a string of over-the-top social media posts that mock Trump’s infamous style. One post screamed in all caps: “TINY HANDS IS OUT HERE COPYING ME — BUT WITHOUT THE STAMINA (SAD), AND CERTAINLY WITHOUT THE ‘LOOKS.’ TOTAL BETA!”
The post included a black-and-white photo of Trump and Newsom — and blew up online.
The trolling has thrilled Democrats and driven MAGA loyalists into a frenzy. Conservative networks have slammed the posts, while Trump allies have scrambled to respond.
Newsom shrugged off the outrage.
“If nothing else, we’ve called out the absurdity of the normalization of Donald Trump,” he said. “You can’t make it up, and when Fox is sitting there, oh so concerned about these Tweets and all caps, they’ve missed the entire point, haven’t they?”
“We’re pushing back, and people are paying a bit more attention… Maybe they should be paying a bit more attention to what the President of the United States is modeling every single day. Nothing about this is normal, and it needs to be called out.”
The battle isn’t just online. California lawmakers are expected to vote Thursday on Newsom’s proposed map changes. Texas Republicans were set to approve their own partisan redistricting plan on Wednesday — just as Trump demanded in a Truth Social post: “I call on all of my Republican friends in the Legislature to work as fast as they can to get THIS MAP to Governor Greg Abbott’s desk, ASAP.”
Critics warn this redistricting arms race could further erode trust in elections and lock in political power through manipulation.
But Newsom and his allies argue that Democrats can’t afford to keep playing nice while Republicans change the rules.
“Governor Newsom didn’t care whether folks would clutch their pearls when he decided to fight fire with fire and level the playing field against this craven, power hungry White House,” said Democratic National Committee chair Ken Martin. “His fight is a game changer, a national moment for Democrats to show up for all voters.”
Trump’s team is trying to keep up. His Communications Director Steven Cheung has fired off rage-fueled posts about Newsom’s account, while Deputy Press Secretary Abigail Jackson called the trolling “very weird and not very funny at all.”
But Newsom isn’t apologizing. He’s turning up the heat — and says he’s just getting started.
