California Gov. Gavin Newsom is hijacking conservative headlines ahead of the president’s State of the Union and isn’t shy about taunting him.
On Tuesday, ahead of President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address, the president’s “troller-in-chief” took to X to point out that Fox News is giving “WALL-TO-WALL COVERAGE” of him rather than Trump, 79.
“WOW!!! JUST GOT A CALL FROM A VERY RELIABLE SOURCE (TOP LEVEL) THAT DONALD TRUMP IS FURIOUS RIGHT NOW BECAUSE I, GAVIN C. NEWSOM (GOVERNOR OF THE FREE WORLD) HAVE COMPLETELY “HIJACKED” THE NEWS ON HIS “BIG SPEECH DAY” WITHOUT EVEN TRYING,” Newsom, 58, posted on X, using the mocking capital letters that have become a hallmark of Trump’s social media style.
In response to a request for comment, a White House spokesperson told the Daily Beast, “Gavin Newscum is the worst governor in America, and he also may be the dumbest.”
Newsom’s office told the Daily Beast that there is nothing further to add to the post and confirmed it was an intended challenge to the president’s Tuesday speech.
The post comes as conservative media and MAGA figures have accused the California governor of racism after he appeared in Atlanta during his book tour, where he discussed his dyslexia and told the city’s mayor, Andre Dickens, “I’m not trying to impress you. I’m just trying to impress upon you: I’m like you. I’m no better than you. You know, I’m a 960 SAT guy.”
Newsom’s remarks quickly circulated on conservative media after a video of his conversation was shared by the X account “End Wokeness,” with many MAGA figures claiming that the California governor—also widely viewed as a potential 2028 Democratic presidential contender—was invoking a racist stereotype by comparing his low SAT score to that of Black Americans.
Newsom’s communications director issued a statement regarding the comment, calling it “fake MAGA-manufactured outrage,” and added that first “MAGA mocked his dyslexia” and now is calling the governor “racist for talking about his low SAT scores.”
The governor was initially attacked by Fox News host Sean Hannity, to whom Newsom replied by pointing out that Trump has previously shared a racist video of former president and first lady Barack and Michelle Obama and referred to African nations as “s--thole countries.”
“You’re going to call me racist for talking about my lifelong struggle with dyslexia? Spare me your fake f--king outrage, Sean,” Newsom replied to Hannity on Monday.
Meanwhile, despite Mayor Dickens defending Newsom following the outrage, saying his words were not “an attack on anyone” but “a moment of vulnerability about his own journey,” more Fox News stories about the governor surfaced on Tuesday—the day of Trump’s State of the Union address.
One story featured Corrin Rankin, the first Black chair of the California Republican Party in history, telling Fox News Digital that Newsom had “tanked himself” and that the situation would “haunt him for the rest of his career and any potential career he thinks he’s going to have,” likely referring to his potential run for the White House.
The president himself chimed in on Truth Social, posting: “Wow! Gavin Newscum just dropped out of the Presidential Race!!! President DJT” the day before his address.
Newsom fired back later on Tuesday, continuing his post: “MY RATINGS ARE THROUGH THE ROOF! MUCH BETTER THAN DOZY’S. PEOPLE ARE NOW SAYING THAT I SHOULD DELIVER THE SPEECH INSTEAD OF TRUMP’S “STATE OF THE SNOOZE,” referring to the conservative coverage he had received.
The president, who is expected to address the affordability crisis—a topic he previously called a “hoax”—will deliver his State of the Union address as polls show he faces a 60 percent disapproval rating.
“It’s an offensive speech, but the backdrop of it all is that they’ve been in a defensive posture for several weeks now,” an unnamed ex-official with insider knowledge of Tuesday’s speech told Politico.
