Dem
47
GOP
53
On Monday, we noted that Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) is trolling Donald Trump with over-the-top eX-Twitter posts mocking Trump's style. Trump is furious about this and doesn't know how to deal with it. Here is another tweet:
While the "Christopher Columbus" moniker is clever, Columbus was famous for not having a good map, landing in the wrong place, and insisting he was in the right place. But if it gets under Trump's skin, Gavin Columbus is fine with it.
Newsom may be doing more than irritating Trump. He may be redefining how the Democrats operate. Michelle Obama famously once said: "When they go low, we go high." Newsom's strategy is: "When they go low, we go low, and—backed by lots of AI-generated slop—end up high in the algorithm. Newsom's style has birthed a cottage industry of AI-savvy Democrats, including these from his own press office:
Then there is this one:
And these:
Democrats are giving this approach to Trump rave reviews. Not only are the tweets raising morale among Democrats, but also Newsom's nickname for Trump, TACO, really angers Trump and could cause him to make a serious mistake by saying something really harmful to himself.
Democratic strategist Jamal Simmons said: "Democrats are over being the 'nice guy' party." He also said that people who don't follow politics really like Newsom. A recent poll on the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination has Newsom in second place now, after Kamala Harris. This is entirely due to name recognition, but his name is being recognized, which is why Newsom is continuing to mock Trump. Newsom is also targeting J.D. Vance, who is almost as unpopular with Democrats as Trump and not nearly as popular as Trump with Republicans. The 2028 GOP nomination is definitely not his for the taking, and the more Newsom makes him look like a fool, the weaker his lead for the nomination will be in 2028, and the more bitter the Republican primary will be.
Democratic strategist Christy Setzer said: "I'm surprised it's taken Democrats this long to do it." She said it is brilliant and, as an attention-getting device, has already succeeded. Have you seen any other Democratic hopeful in the news as much as Newsom lately?
Newsom's big gamble isn't the tweets. There is no downside there. The big gamble is getting the redistricting initiative, called Proposition 50, passed in November. If it passes and the map is changed for 2026, 2028 and 2030, Newsom will be a hero among Democrats. If it fails, he will be a goat. A Democratic pollster reports that 57% of California voters are "Yes on 50" and 35% are "No on 50." We'd like to see more polls before believing it, but California is very blue and nothing Arnold Schwarzenegger can say will change that. The poll showed that how the measure is pitched matters. If it is pitched as abolishing the independent commission, it doesn't poll well. But when pitched as a temporary measure to combat what Texas is doing, it is a winner. Of course, if after the next census the Texas map is still gerrymandered badly, will Californians really want to revert to an independent commission? As expected, the Texas House passed the new map yesterday. It now goes to the Texas Senate where its passing is assured. So is the governor's signature.
Another interesting poll from the Citrin Center shows that in a head-to-head horse race for the 2028 presidential nomination, registered California Democrats prefer Newsom over Harris 25% to 19%. Take this with adequate salt and pepper, but if Harris loses the primary in her home state, she is toast. That doesn't mean Newsom will be the nominee—he has a lot of baggage—but it does mean she won't be. That said, at this point, name recognition is the dominant factor in polling. People such as Govs. Andy Beshear (D-KY), Josh Shapiro (D-PA) and Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) are not widely known yet. Everything could change once the campaign goes public. Keep in mind that it's only 2025, so the 2028 presidential campaign won't start in earnest for another 3, maybe 4 months. (V)