What’s behind Gavin Newsom’s “Thank you, Nancy Mace” tweet? Posting like Trump and misgendering the South Carolina representative
California Governor Gavin Newsom's new political strategy drew outrage from both flanks following a dig at South Carolina representative Rep. Nancy Mace on X. The brief tweet, which appeared to draw comparisons between the appearance of Mace and gay right-wing activist Scott Presler, led conservative commentator Tomi Lahren to suggest that Newsom was being homophobic. Newsom's account responded by calling her "woke."
The dizzying role reversal, which started with Newsom's online imitation of President Donald Trump, seems to be confusing the right, delighting liberals, and digging the governor into an even deeper hole with leftists.
Gavin Newsom copies Trump's posting playbook online
Gavin Newsom campaign X account @GovPressOffice riled everyone up on Sunday with a simple reply to a Presler post about an attempt to flip Pennsylvania red, writing "thank you, Nancy Mace." People largely interpreted it as an attack on Presler, a gay man who wears his hair long, and/or Mace, who gained a reputation as Congress's most transphobic legislator—a highly competitive title among the GOP.
Mace has spent her tenure attacking trans people and posting about bathrooms. She's repeatedly targeted the first trans U.S. representative, Democrat Sarah McBride, in stunts that a former aide called "a ploy for media attention."
Newsom seems to be in the middle of his own ploy as he attracts attention by emulating Trump and various right-wing trolls. He certainly grabbed the notice of Lahren, an avid far-right pundit, with his recent tweet.
"You’re kidding me right?" she replied. "Your state and your bullsh*t Governor rant and rave on a daily basis about protecting gay people, and you’re really going to use your official press office account to troll a gay conservative and call him a woman?"
Lahren is correct in that the left typically condemns tweets like Newsom's as homophobic and transphobic. The joke was, of course, that Presler looks too feminine and/or that Mace looks too masculine. McBride's tweets are constantly inundated with conservative trolls telling her she's really a man.
Newsom's campaign was unfazed, however, responding with "you sound woke."
Imitating Trump as a political strategy
According to the governor himself, this is all very much the plan. This X account has been emulating the President since at least August 12, when it posted a highly Trump-coded tweet.
"DONALD TRUMP, THE LOWEST POLLING PRESIDENT IN RECENT HISTORY, THIS IS YOUR SECOND-TO-LAST WARNING!!! (THE NEXT ONE IS THE LAST ONE!)," it yelled. "STAND DOWN NOW OR CALIFORNIA WILL COUNTER-STRIKE (LEGALLY!) TO DESTROY YOUR ILLEGAL CROOKED MAPS IN RED STATES. PRESS CONFERENCE COMING — HOSTED BY AMERICA’S FAVORITE GOVERNOR, GAVIN NEWSOM."
Hours later, the account followed up with a similarly all-caps tweet calling the President "DONALD 'TACO' TRUMP."
It has continued to pen posts like this in between normal ones into this week. On Aug 14, Newsom himself explained the strategy when prompted by a reporter.
"I hope it’s a wake up call for the President of the United States," he said. "I’m following his example. If you've got issues with what I’m putting out, you sure as hell should have concerns about what he’s putting out as President."
"The deeper question is, how have we allowed the normalization of his tweets and Truth Social posts over the course of the last many years to go without similar scrutiny?"
Trump doesn't normally reply with transphobic jabs to other people's posts, but his fans certainly do.
"Outflanking the Trumpists from the right"
The general consensus among pundits, professional and amateur alike, is that Newsom is gearing up for a 2028 presidential run. This assumption predates the start of the Trump-like tweets, and those posts aren't the first stunts that drew comparisons between the Democratic governor and the Republican party.
Back in February, he launched the podcast "This is Gavin Newsom" and started inviting MAGA stars for interviews. This angered leftists, who feel that platforming these types is what got us President Trump in the first place. Continuing to emulate the right by imitating Trump's posting style isn't helping, nor did the Nancy Mace dig.
"Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t this transphobic behavior from Governor Newsom & Joel Cardwell disguised as attempts at humor to make fun of Nancy Mace, a Republican woman?" asked Bluesky user @kosherart.bsky.social.
"Outflanking the Trumpists from the right and the liberals are lapping it up like rabid dogs with a puddle of antifreeze," wrote @danifroom.bsky.social.
Liberals are indeed lapping it up on X, where they've been pledging their votes to Newsom in response to the press account's antics.
"This post alone secured my vote. Newsom 2028!" said @yandurathedoll.
The tricky part for Newsom is the growing divide between liberals and leftists. The latter camp is beyond tired of what they see as Democrats sliding ever further to the right, emulating Republicans whether or not they're attempting to troll.
"Race-to-the-bottom politics is a darn shame," said @ReedHowardVA. "America deserves better than this. I want real leadership."
"This is just f*cking sad," wrote X user @Bw96969696. "Newsom’s the democrats best candidate and he’s diet Trump posting."
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