Covfefe! Newsom Explains His Sudden Penchant For Big, Beautiful, Trumpian Tweets

The tweets have been coming fast, furious and ridiculous since Monday.

They're all-caps and equal measure hyperbole and self-aggrandizing. They're peppered with threats and petty insults alongside pleas for the Nobel Peace Prize, and "many people are saying" they are "big and beautiful."

It's a style now familiar to the American public. But the tweets aren't coming from inside the White House. They're straight out of Sacramento.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom and his official press office are mimicking President Donald Trump in tweet after tweet on topics ranging from the midterms, peace in Ukraine, and Jeffrey Epstein to the size of the president's hands and obsequiousness to Russia's leader. The White House has not publicly addressed Newsom's mimicry.

As President Donald Trump prepared to meet with Russian President Vladimir V. Putin Friday in Alaska to discuss the war in Ukraine, Newsom was at it again, tweeting to his millions of followers:

"MANY PEOPLE ARE SAYING THAT DONALD J. WOULD CONSIDER “GIVING AWAY” THE FREE STATE OF CALIFORNIA TO HIS “BEST FRIEND” VLADIMIR PUTIN — ALL BECAUSE I, GAVIN C. NEWSOM, STOLE THE CAMERAS THIS WEEK WITH “THE MAPS.” NOW, OBVIOUSLY, NOT EVEN THE “TACO PRESIDENT” COULD BE THAT STUPID, BECAUSE AS MANY KNOW, CALIFORNIA IS THE 4TH LARGEST ECONOMY IN THE WORLD!!! WE ARE #1 IN FARMS (I LOVE THE FARMERS!), #1 IN BUILDING THINGS (ALSO KNOWN AS MANUFACTURING), AND #1 IN HIGH TECH (AI!). WE EVEN HAVE THE BEAUTIFUL “FORT ROSS” — WHERE THE RUSSIANS ALREADY TRIED TO STEAL CALIFORNIA HUNDREDS OF YEARS AGO (SPOILER: THEY LOST!) AND THAT WAS BEFORE “MY MAPS.” EVEN FLORIDA (“MEATBALL RON”) HAS LESS TOURISM THAN ME. AMERICA WOULD COLLAPSE WITHOUT CALIFORNIA AND NOT EVEN “DUMMY DONALD” (TINY HANDS) COULD MAKE SUCH A “DISASTROUS DEAL.” BUT IF HE EVER TRIES TO “SWAP” CALIFORNIA TO RUSSIA, MARK MY WORDS — THERE WILL BE BIG, BEAUTIFUL CONSEQUENCES FOR HIM!!! AND BELIEVE ME… HE WON’T LIKE THEM!!! THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS VERY IMPORTANT MATTER!!! — GCN

Newsom's post ended with the president's signature thanks and signoff using his initials.

When not mimicking the president's tweets, the governor is leaning into the trolling, reposts and memes that now come from official branches of the United States government such as the Department of Homeland Security. On the same day ICE agents first initiated random raids in Los Angeles, the official homeland security account tweeted:

The governor's press office is also mimicking the Trumpian tactic of mocking political critics in personal terms:

The governor has garnered headlines for his social media strategy, but it mirrors an equally noteworthy shift in his political strategy. Many of his Trump-mimicking tweets this week focused on his plan to hold a November special election to redistrict California's Congressional map in favor of Democrats before the midterms.

The move is nakedly partisan and a notable shift from the state's vaunted process that relies upon independent commissions to redraw Congressional maps every 10 years. It's a response to a gerrymander pursued by Republicans in Texas. Democrats can't afford to take the proverbial high road on redistricting while Republicans play dirty, Newsom and his allies have argued.

“We can’t stand back and watch this democracy disappear district by district all across the country,” Newsom said.

However, what he tweeted was:

Newsom fielded questions about his familiar tweeting style Thursday during his press conference announcing the November special election. He called the posts a wake-up call.

"I hope it’s a wake-up call for the President of the United States. I’m sort of following his example. If you've got issues with what I’m putting out, you sure as hell should have concerns about what he is putting out as President," Newsom told reporters. "To the extent, it's got some attention, I'm pleased. I think the deeper question is how have we allowed the normalization of his tweets through social posts over the course of the last many years to go without similar scrutiny and notice?"