Image: watson/keystone
analysis
With his hardball tactics, the governor has become the president’s main challenger.
December 16, 2025, 12:43 p.mDecember 16, 2025, 2:32 p.m
The extremely popular actor and director Rob Reiner (“When Harry Met Sally”) and his wife have fallen victim to a family tragedy. Donald Trump’s reaction to this is so unspeakable that even Republicans are outraged or at least remain silent. The president posted on his Truth Social platform that Reiner suffered from “an incurable disease called TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME.”
Nobody, absolutely nobody, can stoop to this disgusting level. But the question of how to counter the president’s constant lies and defamation is dividing Democrats. “When they go low, we go high,” Michelle Obama once announced during Hillary Clinton’s election campaign. That hasn’t worked.
Gavin Newsom, the governor of California, is pursuing a completely different strategy. He pays Trump back in kind, or as it is called in modern German: he trolls him.
Family tragedy for the Reiners.Image: keystone
He started doing this in the summer by imitating the president. Specifically, it looks like this:
«FOX HATES THAT I’M THE MOST POPULAR GOVERNOR (POLL KING) AND SAVE AMERICA – WHILE TRUMP CAN’T EVEN MANAGE THE STAIRS TO HIS AIR FORCE ONE JET. FOX GOES CRAP WHEN I SAY AMERICA WINS NOW!!! THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION.”
Newsom doesn’t hold back even with unflattering comparisons. He described Trump as an “invasive species” at the climate conference in Brazil.
He recently shot the bird with an AI-generated video. It shows Trump in handcuffs together with his Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and his agitator Stephen Miller, reminiscent of the videos of arrested immigrants distributed by the deportation police ICE. This video sparked a storm of outrage in the MAGA camp and Fox News.
Newsom leaves this cold. In a long interview with Ezra Klein from the New York Times, he replied: “It’s really surreal when people think like that. I fight fire with fire, I fight back. Yes, I’m very aggressive and don’t hold back.”
Outrage in the MAGA camp: Trump and Co. in handcuffs.
In the interview in question, Newsom explains in detail the reasons for his trolling of Trump. It is very important to him that the Democrats put aside their elitist arrogance and – to put it in football parlance – go where it hurts. This also means that you get involved with your opponents.
This is exactly what Newsom does on his own podcast. There he hosted, among others, Charlie Kirk. The idea came from one of his sons, who was a fan of the murdered MAGA youth idol. “It has gradually become clear to me that the Democrats need to wake up. That’s why I did these podcasts.”
Newsom got along well with Kirk, and also with Steve Bannon. Trump’s former chief strategist was a guest of the California governor and also scored points: “He (Bannon) sensibly criticized the World Trade Organization and the NAFTA free trade agreement,” admits Newsom. “And he rightly stated that both parties are complicit in the erosion of our industrial base.”
Despite all his understanding for his political opponent, Newsom does not hide his own merits. To those who want to portray California as a symbol of American decadence and decline, he counters: “California’s success is no coincidence – it is the result of planning. We invest 18 percent of all research money worldwide. (…) And who has more engineers, scientists and Nobel Prize winners than us? We have 13,700 active patents in the university system and that has created trillion-dollar companies and created these billionaires who are now complaining about California.”
Even though Newsom admits that big mistakes have been made in immigration policy, he remains convinced that California must remain a multicultural state. “Our strength lies in diversity, even if guys like JD Vance and others dislike this,” he clarifies.
Looks dazzling, but he’s not a dazzler: Gavin Newsom.Image: keystone
He also doesn’t want to join in with the current anti-woke clamor. «I have a godson who is trans. There is no governor who has signed more progressive legislation than me,” he says.
Thanks to his good looks, Newsom had a reputation for being a superficial dazzler. Wrongfully. Newsom doesn’t have a degree from an elite university and he had to work hard for a lot of things. “I am severely dyslexic,” he admits. «I can’t read a speech. This disability has defined me, my struggles, my insecurities, my fears, but also my willingness to try new things and learn from my mistakes.”
Newsom has long been considered a potential presidential candidate for the Democrats. In 2020 he gave way to Joe Biden. He leaves it open whether he will run in 2028, but he definitely has a chance. He is currently ahead in many surveys. And God knows he doesn’t lack motivation:
«It can’t go on like this. We are divided, traumatized and exhausted. I can’t even imagine three more years of this style. What is happening to our children? Their brains are already messed up by social media. And is that her role model? A guy who calls others disabled? A guy who calls women pigs? Is that our role model? The President of the United States?”