Gavin Newsom's Account Dunks on Dana Perino of Fox News
By: Michael Luciano (Mediaite)
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Associated Press
California Governor Gavin Newsom's X account roasted Dana Perino , who advised the governor to stop his all-caps social media posts.
On Monday's edition of The Five on Fox News, Perino took a moment to criticize Newsom, whose official press account has mimicked President Donald Trump's all-caps screeds for over the last several days.
"You have to stop it with the Twitter thing," Perino said . "I don't know where his wife is. If I were his wife, I would say, 'You are making a fool of yourself, stop it!' Do not let your staff tweet, and if you are doing it yourself, put the phone away and start over."
She added, "He's got a big job as governor of California, but if he wants an even bigger job, he has to be a little bit more serious."
Perino omitted any mention of Trump's rambling social media posts, which are often in all-caps.
On Friday, Fox's Trace Gallagher offered a similar critique, stating that Newsom's posts "come across as childish," which, of course, is the point.
A few hours later, Newsom's press office retweeted a video of Perino's remarks and wrote, "ALMOST A WEEK IN AND THEY STILL DON'T GET IT."
ALMOST A WEEK IN AND THEY STILL DON'T GET IT https://t.co/xACH6zSfXX
— Governor Newsom Press Office (@GovPressOffice) August 19, 2025
In a separate post on Monday, Newsom accused Fox News contributor Tomi Lahren of being "woke" for taking umbrage at a post that referred to a male Republican operative as Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC).
In an article published last week, The Wrap identified Camille Zapata , Newsom's digital director, as the source of the posts. That article has since been updated to state that others are also responsible for the Trump-trolling strategy.
Dana Perrino is incredibly tone deaf. Newsom is parodying Trumps social media.
She was also absolutely correct, unless you think that Trump's twitter actions don't make a fool out of him. I've been of the opinion since his first campaign that he would be better off if someone would break his fingers and take his phone away.
Clearly there are millions of MAGAs who love his insane tweets. I dont know how anyone could argue otherwise.
Looks like you didn't understand what I said.
That statement can be correctly applied to both Newsom AND Trump. While there are plenty of Trump followers who love his tweets, there are also plenty of Newsom followers who love his. And both sides continue to make fools of themselves. I guess that's politics.
Please, you will give MAGA a bad name. Trump has been doing this crap for years and years over the course of many hundreds if not thousands of posts. Now Newsom does it a few times to mock Trump and now they are "both sides" equal? Its silly to say that.
Do you not get that this is not how Newsom typically communicates? He is doing it so people will pay more attention to the fact that Trump has done this daily, for years, and people are not as bothered by it as they should be. It’s parody. Satire. To make a point.
I don’t understand why this is so hard to grasp.
Never said a thing about them being equal in this area. What I said was that this was a poor judgement on his side. For a politician who wants to move further up the ladder, why would he want to imitate Trump? A parody of Trump on twitter? That's just as bad as a parody using black face. It's stupid and self-defeating as he will need the support and votes of Independents if he wants to gain the White House. Imitating Trump will not gain him the MAGA vote and the way things are looking won't help him with the independent votes.
But don't exaggerate as I never attempted to say they were equal in this manner. Well aware that Trump's been doing it for years. But it's very stupid for Newsom to do it even for one time.
And stupid people used blackface as parody many years ago, doesn't make that any better. Like I said in the very first post in the thread,
If Newsom is earnest in attempting to run for the White House, don't you think it would be stupid to piss away the Independant votes like this? IMO Newsom has enough problems that he will need to deal with in any attempt to gain the Democratic nomination, why would he want to make that job harder?
Good point. As long as you are not trying to suggest this is equivalent (as others here have been doing) then yes I agree Newsom should stay on the high road and never stoop to any of Trump's slimy tactics. Best to make arguments and not resort to mockery.
Some people would prefer that no one ever fight back against Trump in any way. That is what got us in this mess in the first place. Apathy.
Newsom doesnt care what you think, he cares what the people he is trying to get to fight Trump think.
That is a poor analogy. Racist people used blackface to dehumanize African Americans just for being black. Here, parody and satire are being employed to highlight poor behavior from someone who should be held to a higher standard.
Is he? I have not heard him announce that. All he is doing is acting to protect the interests of California.
No it didn't. If it did Perino would have mentioned trmp by name. Do you see anywhere in her statement where she does that?
I disagree. He's term limited so he will need to run for some other office if he wants to remain in public service. In early July he made a tour thru South Carolina which is the first state to hold their Democratic primaries, giving an appearance that he is thinking of running for President. His name is brought up by main-stream media as one of the better choices for the Democratic nominees. While he's not announced yet, he is giving the appearance that he is looking at it.
Given the power of the party, I believe that he's acting more in the interests of the party and his future political life than in the interests of California.
Sorry but you have the wrong interpretation. I said the statement could be applied to both, never said that Perino even implied that.
After re-reading some of the posting in this thread, I thought about it and there could be a solid rational behind this.
I think that Newsom will throw his hat into the ring for the 2028 Presidential race. He was in South Carolina for a couple of days in early July and I think he's also made trips to New Hampshire and Iowa. South Caroline is the first state to hold a Democrat primary.
Democrats are angry at what Trump and the Republicans are doing and want their representatives to fight back harder. But the last six months have really shown that shouting and shaming really don't change the needle very much. So perhaps Newsom thinks that sarcasm in this way will aid his approach to the Democratic nominee. Add in that he's only 57 and much of the voting public has been voicing the desire for younger people in office.
He is after all term limited in California and if he wants to remain in public service he will need to run for a different office. Time will tell what he's going to do next but I think he's looking at a Presidential run.
He likely is planning to run for PotUS. I think he (properly) believes that taking on Trump will be good for his career. What I would have advised him to do, however, is to take the high road when battling Trump.
He won;t be running against trmp in 2028. I think he should have his fun while he can. trmp supporters never had a problem with him acting like a 3 year old but now that Newsom is pushing back and holding a mirror to his face it's all WRONG! He can't do that!
hysteria from MAGA snowflakes
I am all for people mocking Trump. But if I were to advise someone aspiring to be president my first recommendation is to always act presidential.
........it's all okay cuz he has a "D" in his title. Shit behavior is shit behavior. And "he does it too" isn't a very solid rock to stand on.
I understand why he’s in the conversation for the next president these days, but other people’s conversations are not his responsibility. He has not announced, and he isn’t just out there giving speeches on random, general topics (something lots of politicians do). He is taking action to protect California.
A year or more ago, Newsom was just one of many names floated for a possible presidential run. Today, he is front and center in the news. But who made that happen?
Newsom is in the national spotlight because Trump has repeatedly attacked him and attacked our state. When we had fires, all Trump did was attack with bullshit and make things more difficult. He didn’t actually help. He has also sabotaged our efforts to conserve water, clean our air pollution, and keep the peace in our communities.
Now, there is an effort from Trump to get Republican states to redraw districts, mid-decade, so as to prevent an anticipated switch in the House - and possibly Senate - majorities as result of elections next year. This is an undemocratic - and I would hope, illegal - attempt to silence voices and the power of California to decide its own future. So, of course, the governor is out there trying to protect those voices. He’s doing what he should be doing as governor.
What is he supposed to do? Sit by and watch as Trump games the system at our expense?
I'm not surprised at the MAGA reaction to Newson's "trolling" (Dana Perrino and Fox for example) but I am surprised at people, who claim to be non MAGA, seem to not understand what he is doing. Newsom is trying to get the Democrats to fight against Trump, and polling indicates the (Democratic) public wants that even more.
Newsom is trying to position himself as the 2026 Democratic nominee. Dems need better choices.
Newsom is trying to distract from his policies killing Americans by doing a Trump imitation. Newsom knows acting like Trump helps with Democrats, proving yet again the only real problem Democrats have with Trump is the R after his name.
I dont know if its the best tactic , since Trump and the cult are immune to mockery, but the stupidity of the Fox News host attacking him for being on social media instead of doing his job is priceless.
Mocking something that has no shame and has zero self-awareness is like a broken pencil, pointless. We could be speaking a different language for all they care. They have no morals, they have no shame, they have no bottom to what they will do for their dear Leader. It's not about right or wrong anymore, it's about conservatives just getting in line with the other goose-stepping conservatives to keep white Christian conservatives in control of the nation and they think standing behind the biggest most unpredictable bully in the prison yard is their best option.
A jury found Donald Trump liable for sexually abusing advice columnist E. Jean Carroll in 1996, awarding her $5 million and yet not even this can shame those who sing his praises. I have to wonder sometimes, is the air really so sweet up Trumps ass or is there some other inexplicable reason these sycophants just can't get enough of this sexual predator.
Quite an inexplicable comment. I wish I cared.
Newsom thinks his best chance to win the nomination is to act like Trump, so he's doing it. You rewarded him with this seed, so you obviously approve of the be like Trump strategy.
Do you seriously believe that nonsense? You believe that a rational, experienced politician thinks behaving like an irrational, vindictive, man-child is the best path to the presidency?
No, he thinks it is useful to parody Trump's craziness. I suppose that remains to be seen but he is not acting like Trump he is mocking him.
Look at his twitter and look at all the progressives swooning over it. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
He's copying Trump's techniques and using them to promote himself. The only difference is the target.
Newsom is making fun of Trump — illustrating Trump's nutty CAPS posts. You do not recognize that??
You do not recognize the difference between mocking Trump and behaving like Trump? You really think that this mockery of Trump is the same as pathological lying, ridiculous exaggeration, personal attacks on anyone seen as an opponent, frivolous 'investigations' and accusations against political enemies, rambling speeches that go on ridiculous tangents, bizarre beliefs (e.g. tariffs are paid by foreign nations), late night social media rants that are often incoherent, official well-wishes that devolve into partisan bashes and personal attacks, egotistical claims of invented personal accomplishments, taking control over everything he can (e.g. the Kennedy Center) to make himself the center of attention wherever possible, etc., etc.?
Nobody comes even close to behaving like Trump. And if someone did try, do you seriously think that acting like Trump is something a seasoned politician (especially a D who would rely upon a D base) would do?
Do you not recognize Trump's schtick of over the top mockery of his opponents and not acting like a traditional candidate? It's literally Trump's playbook, but he's just copying the tactics and calling it "mockery"
Trump is mentally ill. YOU are hoping and praying he is playing five dimension chess. His success with his social media is based entirely on the gullibility of his cult.
Newsom is taking one, specific aspect of Trump's many-faceted flawed behavior and applying it in an extremely limited way (compared to how Trump uses it) and only applying it to one person — Trump.
It is laughable that you even attempt to pawn this off as Newsom behaving like Trump to get elected. Just absurd.
What's absurd is not recognizing he's copying his playbook and as this seed shows, it works among democrats.
This has nothing to so with Trump's motivations. This is about Newsom copying Trump's style and how it appeals to Democrats. Has to work better than talking about giving CDL's to illegals so they can kill Americans, right?
You can keep engaging in this ridiculous pretense that mocking Trump in this extremely limited and very obvious fashion is equivalent to copying Trump's playbook. I doubt your continued, stubborn, pointless insistence of this absurd notion will convince anyone.
Trump lies continuously. By your 'argument' if a politician lies, they are copying Trump's playbook in order to win the presidency.
Trump routinely engages in personal attacks of opponents. By your 'argument' if a politician makes a personal attack of a single opponent they are copying Trump's playbook in order to win the presidency.
Trump routinely engages in rambling, off-topic, braggadocios nonsense in his speeches. By your 'argument' if a politician rambles on in a self-aggrandizing fashion they are copying Trump's playbook in order to win the presidency.
Feel free to continue the pattern until you recognize how flawed your 'argument' is.
Trump was a democrat for decades before he switched parties. Guaranteed if he were still a D, was a D president, the screechers on the left would be giving him glowing praise, including his deportation of illegals.
They just hate that it is Trump, the person that beat their queen Hillary.
If Trump were a D (or whatever) it would make zero difference to me. It is not his party designation that is a problem and in all my comments I have never even hinted that he be criticized because of his affiliation. My comments are always about what Trump says and does. And recently, what he says and does representing us as PotUS.
Partisans always frame issues in terms of party. Here you are doing just that. It seems, from your comment, that it is inconceivable to you that someone would NOT base their criticisms / praise on party designation.
[deleted][✘]
It’s amazing how political tribalism can make people believe anything, no matter how stupid. Newsom - or whatever assistant is writing these posts for him - is doing parody of Trump’s social media posts, to shine a brighter light on his insane communications. The phrasing and style is the same. You’d think it would be obvious, but politics has made these people as dumb as a bag of hammers.
Trump has been doing this shit for years, and the FoxNews and MAGA morons think it’s fine, but when a Democrat copies him - to make you think about what Trump has been doing - it’s suddenly outrageous. The hypocrisy is mind-blowing.
The same thing is happening with redistricting. In Texas - already ranked as one of the most gerrymandered states in the country - they want to redraw districts mid-decade after having just redrawn them a couple years ago, without consulting the people.
In response - and only in response - to this outrageous action, California (not perfect, but still one of the lesser gerrymandered states , because it has an independent commission draw its districts), will ask the people - through a special election - to vote on whether or not their districts should be redrawn.
And the FoxNews and MAGA morons look at all this and are outraged that California is “destroying democracy” to redraw districts. It’s like Opposite Day, and up is down.
‘And the FoxNews and MAGA morons look at all this and are outraged that California is “destroying democracy” to redraw districts’
Can you quote a supposed ‘MAGA’ who said what you have in quotes about California recent attempt at redistricting?
We can surely quote dozens of leftists who have used those exact words about Texas redistricting.
Hell, we can quote leftists using those words about pretty much everything Trump does…..of course, without proof….just whining.
This mid-cycle gerrymandering is yet another example of how sick and divisive our system has become. Texas began this to satisfy Trump. They never should have gone down this path. California is moving in this direction to fight back ... to nullify Texas' slimy moves.
It is very different to initiate this crap for partisan advantage (redistricting not because of census but purely as an obvious power grab) than it is to counter this crap with the same technique. Neither state should be doing this but Texas and Trump put us on this path with their slimy tactics.
Why? Do you think I have misrepresented their feelings on the issue?
Nope. No one in that video said "destroying democracy".[✘]
Is there a point to you needing those two specific words? I asked you why before and I am asking again. Have I misrepresented their position? Is there a significant difference between what I wrote and what you saw in my link? Or are you just trolling to avoid discussing the issue?
The point is you made the claim that MAGA has made the statement with those exact words, as you put them in QUOTation marks, meaning they actually stated those words.
Now you want to move goalposts by saying …..well, they said something like that’
Not gonna work
So, on the topic, or in answer to my questions, you don’t have a point. By the way, there are other uses for the quotation mark.
Not gonna work for what?
Exactly. Newsom copies Trump and now Democrats fall over themselves praising Newsom for "fighting " because he sends juvenile trump style tweets.
Yeah, it is juvenile - for an adult reason. The juvenile quality of it is patterned on what Trump does. Is it not juvenile for you when Trump does it? Do you not understand, or refuse to acknowledge that Newsom is doing it to shine a light on what Trump has been doing for years? He has said so, publicly.
Same old story. When Trump does something, it's the end of democracy, Trump is embarrassing the country demeaning the presidncy etc ect.. When team democrat does the same thing Trump did it's fine because their hearts are pure.
So, you don’t understand how parody and satire work? Or you refuse to recognize it when it’s right in front of you and explained, as well?
This is how the Right gets a reputation for being anti-education. This is stuff you would have learned in college, even if you didn’t get it in high school.
So you don't understand how trolling works? Or you refuse to recognize it when it's right in front of you and explained, as well?
Newsom is a troll. So is Trump. When Trump trolls, progressives need a fainting couch and claim democracy is in danger. When Newsom trolls, it's fine because "he's on my team!"
This is stuff you would have learned in college, even if you didn’t get it in high school
Personal attacks. Nice. but I'm sure you'll justify it because "reasons!"
This might be the weakest argument I've ever heard here.
Lol. You don't think Newsom is a troll? Or have you forgotten all your seeds expressing outrage about Trump trolling Democrats?
There is no behavior you won't attack Trump for that won't don't justify a Democrat engaging in. The "ends justify the means approach" we see on display on this seed shows how prevalent that thinking is on the left.
I’ll take that as “no” x 2.
And here again you equate mocking Trump with Trump's ongoing practice of ridiculing others. Trump routinely behaves like a child making fun of others. It is how he operates. He is an asshole through and through.
You defend this asshole and his antics but when a D decides to mock Trump using Trump's style, you demand that this means Newsom is equivalent to Trump.
I personally think Newsom should have taken the high road, but his limited, isolated, counterpunch mocking of Trump does not, in any rational way, equate to Trump's ongoing attacks on anyone he considers to be an opponent.
Your claim is like equating a kid stealing a candy bar with a career grand larcenist.
‘Lol. You don't think Newsom is a troll? Or have’
Sad thing its not even Newsom posting his tweets. He has a three ‘person’ blue haired and soy boy team doing all of this….and they suck at it.
When Newsom trolls, conservatives need a fainting couch and claim America is going to hell in the hands of Godless liberals acting like children.
It is pretty funny watching conservatives contort logic to try and defend Trump acting like a petulant child while also calling anyone who fights fire with fire a petulant child. It would be hilarious and deserve a bucket of popcorn to sit back and watch the antics if it didn't have such dire consequences for our nation.
This entire argument at this point basically starts with conservatives accusing liberals of acting like petulant children, so they hire one of the biggest petulant man babies on the planet and conservatives laugh their asses off every time their man baby makes liberals mad.
Liberals, on the other hand, have every right to be upset by the man baby but no matter how carefully and deliberately they make their case, conservatives just laugh in their faces because it's never been about being better than the Democrats, they know they can't win on content. It's about dragging liberals through the mud and making them look like fools old school yard bully style so they needed an old school yard bully who would defiantly stare the world in the face as he deploys such tactics as "I know you are, but what am I?", "SHOUTING" in the victims faces and the old "Why are you hitting yourself, why do you keep hitting yourself" as he slaps them with their own hand.
And of course, when any victim dares stand up to the bully and fight back bully style the bully and his allies cry foul. "Why are they picking on us? Why are they SHOUTING! Why are they bullying us! Whaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!".
But the long and short of it is, conservatives believe liberals are the ones who already lowered politics to this subterranean level, so they have no problem fighting dirty. Every time a liberal points out they're fighting dirty they'll laugh in their face. But that doesn't ever stop them from screaming foul when liberals fight dirty because they're monumental hypocrites, but again, they believe liberals were the hypocrites first so that justifies their hypocrisy.
You imply they weren't always that way.
Perhaps naively, I live in hope that people will try to do better.
After reading thru this entire seed, it's obvious that the partisan sides continue to applaud their side while lambasting the other side. All this really means is that the House of Representatives are no longer representing the people as they are supposed to do. Instead, due to the gerrymandering removing any contest from approximately 90% of the seats in the House I propose that the name should be changed from the House of Representatives to the House of Party Representation.
A more appropriate name. It would be nice if there was a way to fix this, but even if the entire Congress was fired, we would almost certainly return to partisan representatives because the people are so partisan nowadays.
I suspect many Trump supporters do not even recognize how stupid Trump sounds (is). Funny how they recognize it when a tiny piece of it comes from someone else.
I have felt for a long long time that Trumpism will not end with mutual agreement or compromise. Extreme MAGAs will never see where they went wrong. They have to be defeated , presumably at the ballot box.
Too cool.
I want a Newsom boat parade.
"Gavin Newscum" is trending on X. As you might expect, the tweets are idiotic.