Simply once you thought it was protected to return on TikTok, viral Gavin Newsom memes are taking up social media.
There’s Newsom Photoshopped right into a traditional black-and-white Calvin Klein advert (fake ripped abs and all). Newsom on the quilt of a fake romance novel (Fabio “bodice ripper” vibes abound). Newsom in a T-shirt declaring, “That is my actual hair” (an unsubtle jab at President Trump). And my private favourite: an AI-generated picture of Hulk Hogan, Child Rock and Tucker Carlson praying over him.
Essentially the most audacious? A parody of Trump’s iconic post-assassination-attempt photograph — besides Newsom isn’t elevating a fist. He’s holding a bottle of ketchup (presumably referencing pretend blood).
Then there’s Newsom sipping from a mug labeled “MAGA Tears.” Newsom as Superman. Newsom as Mel Gibson in “The Patriot.” Newsom with Jesus behind him, arms on his shoulders.
Unseemly? Sure. Efficient? In all probability.
We’d prefer to assume we’re too refined to fall for this nonsense. However memes work as a result of they bypass the rational mind and goal our unconscious. See somebody sufficient instances in a cape, glowing halo overhead and American flags flying, all whereas mounting a lion — and ultimately a part of you absorbs the message: This particular person is bigger than life.
And right here’s the genius half: There’s believable deniability for the purveyor. Memes are propaganda posing as parody. They will all the time be dismissed as a joke. You get to inject iconography into the bloodstream (both on your candidate or towards your opposition), after which shrug and say you’re simply trolling, lol. Within the case of Newsom, that is doubly so, since his memes are parodies, illustrating the absurdity of Trump’s.
For years, Trump monopolized this infantile, if devious, recreation. That’s partly as a result of it takes appreciable audacity to advertise a picture of your self as a ripped Marvel superhero (or because the pope) once you’re visibly … not. However shamelessness is Trump’s superpower.
Now Newsom needs in.
He’s borrowing the Trump playbook: daring federal officers to “arrest me,” vowing to “combat like hell” towards the Trump administration’s efforts to extract $1 billion from UCLA and even slapping a Trump-style title on a invoice (the “Election Rigging Response Act”) to counter Texas’ try to create 5 new Republican congressional seats.
And now, together with his press store blasting ALL CAPS taunts (“DONALD IS FINISHED — HE IS NO LONGER ‘HOT’ ”) and the proliferation of those viral photos, Newsom has totally joined the Trump meme wars.
Typically the trolling is intelligent — like pasting JD Vance’s face on an Australian breakdancer (Newsom’s punny nickname for the veep is “Simply Dance Vance”). Different instances it’s a bit merciless — like retweeting an image of a suave, younger Newsom juxtaposed with a clumsy teenage Vance.
Both manner, the purpose lands the identical. Newsom is taller, cooler and higher trying. And he has higher hair than Trump or Vance ever will. As soon as upon a time, we would have anticipated such gloating to backfire and repel Joe and Jane Sixpack. However within the Trump period of flashy braggadocio and chest-thumping one-upmanship, Newsom is preventing fireplace with fireplace.
On this weird new Trumpian section of American politics, California’s governor isn’t sitting again. He’s hitting again. He’s preventing on Trump’s turf (TikTok, X, Bluesky and Instagram) and in the identical meme economic system.
And it simply would possibly work. Bear in mind the 2016 major? Republican voters ignored the “critical” candidates and went with Trump, largely as a result of “he fights.”
To make sure, Democrats will not be Republicans. Their base has completely different priorities. However don’t rule out the likelihood that toughness — and a willingness to throw elbows on-line — might resonate with voters who watched Trump roll over Kamala Harris.
Now, none of this implies Newsom is destined to be the Democratic nominee. He comes throughout as just a little too slick, just a little too bold — assume Ted Cruz. His governing report is hardly a promoting level, particularly at a time when the price of residing has turn into a high nationwide concern. And let’s be trustworthy: Profitable elections in one of many bluest states within the union isn’t precisely a résumé that screams “broad attraction.”
This brings us to the California drawback. Harris, the Democratic nominee within the final cycle, hails from the Golden State, and Democrats might imagine twice earlier than doubling down with one other “left coast” liberal. Add to that Newsom’s stint as mayor of San Francisco — a metropolis conservatives love to carry up as a cautionary story — and you may see why some strategists would possibly assume he’s radioactive within the swing state suburbs.
Nonetheless, politics immediately is much less about political accomplishments and extra about fight expertise. In a perpetual cage match, Democrats might determine that Newsom’s sharp elbows, media savvy and willingness to combine it up make him their greatest guess in 2028. In brief, his saving grace could also be this: He fights!
Matt Ok. Lewis is the writer of “Filthy Wealthy Politicians” and “Too Dumb to Fail.”
