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Why Gavin Newsom’s Trump Act Is Working
One side imitates the other in a seemingly endless back-and-forth of nasty posts, appeals to victimhood, identity groups, gerrymanders. Photo by Justin Sullivan via Getty Images)
California’s governor has concluded that Democrats can beat Republicans by becoming mirror-image Republicans—progressive caricatures of the GOP.
By Matthew Continetti
08.28.25 — U.S. Politics
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California governor Gavin Newsom has perfected the Trump troll. He’s won media plaudits in recent weeks for social media posts and press conferences mimicking the president’s style.

He types using all capital letters: “DONALD IS FINISHED—HE IS NO LONGER ‘HOT.’”

He issues threats: “DONALD TRUMP, IF YOU DO NOT STAND DOWN, WE WILL BE FORCED TO LEAD AN EFFORT TO REDRAW THE MAPS IN CA TO OFFSET THE RIGGING OF MAPS IN RED STATES.”

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Matthew Continetti
Matthew Continetti is the director of domestic policy studies and the inaugural Patrick and Charlene Neal Chair in American Prosperity at the American Enterprise Institute. His most recent book is The Right: The Hundred Year War for American Conservatism (Basic Books, 2022).
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California
Democrats
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