{"id":2476157,"date":"2025-08-19T06:17:01","date_gmt":"2025-08-19T10:17:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/gavin-newsom-channels-his-inner-trump-with-social-media-strategy-heres-why-it-may-backfire\/"},"modified":"2025-08-19T06:20:45","modified_gmt":"2025-08-19T10:20:45","slug":"gavin-newsom-channels-his-inner-trump-with-social-media-strategy-heres-why-it-may-backfire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/gavin-newsom-channels-his-inner-trump-with-social-media-strategy-heres-why-it-may-backfire\/","title":{"rendered":"Gavin Newsom channels his inner Trump with social media strategy. Here&#8217;s why it may backfire"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">30<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fgavin-newsom-channels-his-inner-trump-with-social-media-strategy-heres-why-it-may-backfire%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2476157&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article discusses California Governor Gavin Newsom&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-administration-officials-deploy-social-media-fact-check-strategy\/\" title=\"... officials deploy ... fact-check strategy\">aggressive social media strategy<\/a> that mimics former President Donald Trump&#8217;s combative and provocative online style.Newsom&#8217;s team has been using memes, sarcastic posts, and AI-edited content to mock Trump&#8217;s signature behaviors and governance, generating notable engagement and one billion social media impressions in August alone. While this approach energizes the Democratic base and offers a strong counter to trump&#8217;s rhetoric, some political analysts warn that it risks fatigue among audiences who may grow tired of the constant outrage-driven content.Experts note that while <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >viral memes provide short-term gratification<\/a>, they frequently enough fail to convert online engagement into meaningful political action, a phenomenon known as &#8220;slacktivism.&#8221; Additionally, social media algorithms tend to amplify antagonistic content, sometimes deepening political divisions inadvertently.Media experts highlight the complexity of this approach&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/minority-employees-slam-house-dem-plan-to-boost-diversity-at-state-department\/\" title=\"Minority Employees Slam House Dem Plan To Boost Diversity at State Department\">long-term impact<\/a> on public trust, as some see Newsom&#8217;s style as fresh and authentic, while others find it performative or jarring for an elected official. the article suggests that while Newsom&#8217;s social media war against Trump has gained attention, its effectiveness beyond online popularity remains uncertain. <br \/> <!DOCTYPE html><br \/>\n<?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><html><body><\/p>\n<div id=\"ld-4686-3758\"><\/div>\n<p><script>(function(w,d,s,i){w.ldAdInit=w.ldAdInit||[];w.ldAdInit.push({slot:14832835450050406,size:[0, 0],id:\"ld-4686-3758\"});if(!d.getElementById(i)){var j=d.createElement(s),p=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];j.async=true;j.src=\"https:\/\/cdn2.decide.dev\/_js\/ajs.js\";j.id=i;p.parentNode.insertBefore(j,p);}})(window,document,\"script\",\"ld-ajs\");<\/script><\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Gavin Newsom channels his inner Trump with social media strategy. Here&rsquo;s why it may backfire<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2204314\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>California Gov.<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/gavin-newsom\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> Gavin Newsom <\/a>and his <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/govpressoffice?lang=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">social media<\/a> team have been savagely mocking&nbsp;President<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> Donald Trump<\/a> for the past few weeks, taking aim at his all-CAPS posts, signature sign-off, and using AI-edited content to generate meme-storms.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The tone has been combative, crass, and what&rsquo;s been defended as fighting fire with fire.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/state\/3758190\/texas-democrats-return-house-second-session-gop-redistricting\/\">Texas Democrats return to state for second session on GOP redistricting<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/3758099\/nrsc-memo-gop-unite-cornyn-texas-senate-primary-2026\/\">NRSC memo urges GOP to unite behind Cornyn in Texas Senate primary<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/3758014\/joni-ernst-challenger-jd-scholten-josh-turek-senate\/\">Joni Ernst challenger JD Scholten drops out and endorses Democratic rival<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">President Donald Trump talks with California Gov. Gavin Newsom after arriving on Air Force One at Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, Jan. 24, 2025. (AP Photo\/Mark Schiefelbein, File)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>They&rsquo;ve&nbsp;poked fun at Trump&rsquo;s complaints about not being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize or a Kennedy Center Honor, his hand size, <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/GovPressOffice\/status\/1955279652794306597\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">polling numbers<\/a>, and other insecurities.&nbsp; They&rsquo;ve also gone after Vice President<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/GovPressOffice\/status\/1957245365666955551\/photo\/1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> J.D. Vance<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/GovPressOffice\/status\/1957473533384368173\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">other members<\/a> of the Trump administration, firing off responses and insults in real time.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m just following his example,&rdquo; Newsom recently said.&nbsp;&ldquo;If you have issues with what I&rsquo;m putting out, you sure as hell should have concerns with what he&rsquo;s putting out as president.&rdquo; Newsom&rsquo;s take-no-prisoners social media strategy has gone viral.&nbsp;In August alone, his office tracked one billion impressions over X, TikTok, Facebook, and other social media, with millions of new followers, <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/IsaacDovere\/status\/1957209023649878226\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">CNN reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;This approach is 100% geared toward the Democrat base that is desperate for someone &ndash; anyone &ndash; to offer an aggressive counter to President Trump&rsquo;s multi-front war on many Democrat Party priorities,&rdquo;&nbsp;California-based political strategist Matt Clink told the&nbsp;<em>Washington Examiner<\/em>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>While Newsom&rsquo;s posts are undoubtedly popular, political strategists like Ryan White warn Newsom could be overplaying his hand.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s somewhat ironic that Governor Newsom seems to be taking a page straight out of President Trump&rsquo;s playbook,&rdquo; White, vice president at Think Big, told the&nbsp;<em>Washington Examiner<\/em>.&nbsp; &ldquo;The &lsquo;loud and obnoxious&rsquo; style, operating on the premise that all press is good press, certainly got Trump plenty of attention and dominated the political conversation for years. Newsom appears to be borrowing that same fire-fights-fire approach: generating headlines through sheer volume and provocation.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>White cautioned that the challenge with that type of &ldquo;political theater&rdquo; is that it &ldquo;feels increasingly tired.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;What once worked for Trump, capturing eyeballs and shaping the narrative through spectacle, may now read more as noise than novelty,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Audiences are quicker to tune out the outrage cycle, and the risk for Newsom is that he ends up amplifying the fatigue rather than commanding the stage. This strategy is about six years too late.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Digital media <a href=\"https:\/\/newmedia.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Newmedia.com<\/a> founder Steve Morris credited Newsom&rsquo;s team more, saying memes, especially snarky ones, can make people feel validated, smart, and on the right side of an issue.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a combination of confirmation bias with a side of gamification,&rdquo; he told the&nbsp;<em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. &ldquo;They tap into powerful psychology and chemistry, triggering chemical surges in the brain like dopamine and serotonin that trigger the reward and pleasure centers of the brain.&nbsp;But the issue is that when people get a rush from a meme, while it&rsquo;s fun for the moment, that&rsquo;s where it ends.&nbsp;There&rsquo;s nothing further, no meaningful action.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Morris said that when his company reviewed digital campaigns to measure actual outcomes, the memes that went viral for being witty, sarcastic, or mocking the opponent didn&rsquo;t increase attendance at events or move the needle for new volunteers.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Neurologically, once you get the satisfaction of the meme itself, it removes any drive to take a step in support of a cause,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;This is called &lsquo;slacktivism.&rsquo; When we&rsquo;ve run even small tests for clients, these results were consistent, with funny memes attracting thousands of interactions, but almost never leading to meaningful actions like voter sign-ups or donations.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>He added that the social media algorithms worsen matters because hostile content generates more engagement.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;But because the algorithm can&rsquo;t distinguish between playful teasing and actual extremism, it just boosts whatever keeps people angry and glued to the platform, and I&rsquo;ve actually seen some memes designed to mock opponents end up firing up their supporters instead by creating outrage loops that only serve to deepen divisions, simultaneously boosting the exposure for both sides,&rdquo; he said.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Jamie Krenn, an adjunct professor of media, technology, and psychology at Columbia University, believes Newsom&rsquo;s social media accounts reflect a broader political trend of embracing a mean social media meme culture, rapid-fire posts, and echoing Trump.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Social cognitive theory reminds us that repeated, emotionally charged messaging&mdash;like fast-paced memes&mdash;can influence how people think and react &ndash; because they are social examples to model for both style and content,&rdquo; she told the&nbsp;<em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. &ldquo;So while Newsom&rsquo;s team may succeed in reaching audiences, the long-term resonance is perhaps more complicated.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Krenn, who also teaches a social media class at Sarah Lawrence College, said what Newsom posts can shape the public&rsquo;s trust in him.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Some people may find it fresh and authentic; others may see it as performative, shocking, or jarring, especially coming from an official government account,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;And after some time, keeping it at this level, we have to question the sender&rsquo;s authenticity, which happens as of late. And in a moment when institutional trust is already fragile, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/politics\/3492702\/jasmine-crockett-democrats-trying-to-be-like-trump\/\">how of communication<\/a> often matters as much as the what.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>One person who is all in on Newsom&rsquo;s social media war against Trump is&nbsp;entrepreneur Stephen Cloobeck, a Democratic candidate for governor.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Governor Newsom is doing the right thing by fighting fire with fire,&rdquo; he told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m also battling with Trump using our ads to call him what he is, &lsquo;a cheater,&rsquo; but what Californians need is affordable housing, stable insurance, and jobs. Trump is all about tearing everyone down and serving himself.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script> <\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Gavin Newsom mimics Trump&#8217;s social media style-risks ahead<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2646,"featured_media":2476158,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/newsomtrump.jpeg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[61512,32742,38643,52932,3634],"class_list":["post-2476157","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-campaign-risks","tag-gavin-newsom","tag-political-communication","tag-social-media-strategy","tag-trump"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/newsomtrump.jpeg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2476157","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2646"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2476157"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2476157\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2476161,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2476157\/revisions\/2476161"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2476158"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2476157"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2476157"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2476157"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}