‘Come and get me’: Gavin Newsom has entered the meme war

The Washington Post ^ | June 10, 2025 | Tatum Hunter

[MinorityRepublican]

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has found himself in the center of the internet’s spotlight after squaring off with President Donald Trump on social media over the deployment of military troops to counter protesters in Los Angeles.

While police deployed tear gas and shot at protesters in Los Angeles with rubber bullets on Monday, Newsom shared a screenshot on TikTok of a Washington Post headline reporting that California would sue Trump over the National Guard’s presence, paired with a trending sound sampled from the movie “Mean Girls.” The video was captioned “We will not stand while Donald Trump illegally federalizes the National Guard” and was liked more than 255,000 times.

In another video, posted Friday to X, Newsom talks right into a phone camera with the attached message: “Let’s do a simple Econ 101 lesson for @realDonaldTrump.” That post grabbed 1.7 million views.

Newsom’s clapbacks catapulted to meme status as posters on the left and the right devoured each new beat in the Newsom-Trump showdown. During the back-and-forth, Newsom grew his TikTok following by almost 50 percent, to 897,000 as of Tuesday, and gained 60,000 new followers on X.

While Newsom didn’t ask for the military response in L.A. that ignited tension with the president over the weekend, he responded to the sudden attention with internet-savvy posts that borrow strategies from professional creators, such as speaking straight to camera, shooting vertically and using trending sounds on TikTok to reach more viewers. Audiences responded with Newsom-related memes of their own, introducing his political persona to throngs of young people online.

In a political economy that’s increasingly beholden to the incentives and payoffs of social media, political experts say Newsom’s online strategy could rally support for his position on the L.A. protests and bolster his profile among younger, more online voters.

[mass55th]

There is a permanent cure for diarrhea of the mouth Mr. Newscum.

[ridesthemiles]

IMO-—WE ARE WITNESSING NEWSCUM’S PRESIDENTIAL ASPIRATIONS GO DOWN IN FLAMES

[Secret Agent Man]

Waiting to see meme of Gavin in cuffs doing the perp walk captioned “WE GOT HIM”

GAVIN DOING HIS BEST GARY HART IMPERSONATION

[Secret Agent Man]

Liberal men are chemically like women. I am not surprised that he loses it and starts crying. I hate it when men behave like angry irrational feelz-driven women. Its bad enough dealing with the women when they act this way.

[Secret Agent Man]

You think he cried a lot tonite in his no-sound, fake tears address? Wait til they get him, hes going to be bawling like a little b1tch who just got broken up with.

[WildHighlander57]

Were they ever un-federalized?

[Brian Griffin]

Section 3 Disqualification from Holding Office

No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.

Section 5 Enforcement

The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.

https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/amendment-14/

[trebb]

“The video was captioned “We will not stand while Donald Trump illegally federalizes the National Guard” and was liked more than 255,000 times.”

@CAgovernor
But you will sit on your butts while your cities burn - so pathetic you can’t even get arrested to become a “martyr” - more like a George Floyd “martyr” - only it’s your citizens that can’t breathe because of the acrid smoke...