Bill Maher accused Gavin Newsom of “imitating” Donald Trump, but Newsom insists that’s the point.
“I’m trying to put a mirror up to Donald Trump,” the California governor said on Friday’s episode of Real Time with Bill Maher.
“We’re just trying to reflect that reality and express the absurdity of all of this.”
This approach has become a defining feature of Newsom’s political style since Trump returned to the White House—blasting out meme-ready jabs and all-caps posts that mimic the president’s tone while flipping it back on him.
Recent polling shows Newsom at the top of the 2028 Democratic field, suggesting the approach may be resonating.
But Maher isn’t convinced.
“Among all the people who may or may not be running, you are the one who kind of imitates his style with the trolling—you’re suing Fox now, I understand," Maher said.
“That sounds exactly like what he does.”
Newsom hit Fox News with a $787 million defamation lawsuit last year, alleging the network knowingly distorted his account of a phone call with Trump during protests in Los Angeles and falsely claimed he had lied about the exchange.
A Delaware judge allowed the case to move forward this week, ruling it was “reasonably conceivable” that Fox News acted with actual malice, clearing a key early hurdle for the governor.
The court rejected the network’s attempt to dismiss the case on First Amendment grounds, finding Newsom’s claims had enough merit to proceed even under the higher legal bar applied to public officials, according to Bloomberg Law.
“Looking forward to discovery,” Newsom wrote on X following the ruling.
The “discovery” stage could force internal communications at Fox News into the open, including emails, texts, and editorial discussions behind the segment at the center of the dispute.
That stage has previously proven risky for the network, and the $787 million figure is the same amount paid to settle its high-profile defamation case with Dominion Voting Systems, a precedent that exposed internal messages contradicting its own on-air claims.
For Maher, the line between imitation and strategy is blurring.
“That sounds exactly like what he does, suing media,” he said.
“We’re going into discovery. Fox better look to settle right now or apologize for defamation,” Newsom said.
“Okay, again, but that does sound like him,” Maher replied.
“Well then, don’t defame, don’t lie,” Newsom shot back.
