Gavin Newsom is having his social media moment

“Fuck around” and “find out,” read a TikTok post that followed a screenshot announcing that California is suing President Donald Trump for deploying the National Guard to the streets of Los Angeles.

But the post wasn’t shared by a typical meme account—it came from California Gov. Gavin Newsom.

“I damn near fell over when I realized this was Gov. Newsom’s page,” one user commented.

Since Friday, demonstrations have erupted across Los Angeles in protest of the president’s immigration policies and the ongoing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids.

Although many of the demonstrations have remained peaceful, there have been violent incidents including authorities deploying tear gas and rubber bullets, and protestors setting Waymo vehicles ablaze throughout the city.

As tensions escalated, the Trump administration deployed the National Guard and Marines—despite objections from local officials—sparking a lawsuit from the state, threats of arrest against Newsom, and a surge of defiant memes.

“And remember, kids, the next time anybody tells you ‘the government wouldn’t do that’ . . . oh yes they would,” says the popular TikTok sound used on Newsom’s official account video, playing over screenshots of news headlines and images of armed forces confronting demonstrators.

In another viral video from the governor’s page, which amassed over 5.4 million views, Taylor Swift’s “You Need to Calm Down” plays over a series of photos of the two politicians. “r u ok?” the post asks, with a caption reading: “America’s keyboard warrior.”

Newsom’s clapback drew widespread praise in the comments. “I do disagree with Newsom a lot, but him standing up to tyranny and standing with your state takes some serious guts. Hats off to you Newsom,” wrote one user.

Newsom has also taken to his personal account to deliver meme-laced messages to Trump—one featuring a Photoshopped image of the president wearing a crown that’s captioned “Send in the troops.” The slideshow ends with a shot from the musical Hamilton, with text reading: “Democracy is under assault right before our eyes. It’s time for all of us to stand up.”

The online showdown has significantly boosted Newsom’s social media presence, growing his personal TikTok account by approximately 397,000 followers and his official governor account by 479,000 since Friday.

Newsom is the latest in a growing number of politicians leveraging memes and social media to bypass traditional media and speak directly to the public through humor.

Famously, Kamala Harris gained momentum during her presidential campaign with “Brat Summer” and the coconut tree trend, while Joe Biden leaned into the viral “Dark Brandon” meme during his reelection campaign.

Although meme strategies can generate enthusiasm and visibility, the 2024 election results suggest that online popularity doesn’t always translate at the polls.

https://www.fastcompany.com/91350779/gavin-newsom-is-having-his-social-media-moment?partner=rss&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=rss+fastcompany&utm_content=rss

Vytvořeno 1mo | 11. 6. 2025 23:30:05


Chcete-li přidat komentář, přihlaste se

Ostatní příspěvky v této skupině

Time anxiety is ruining your life. It doesn’t have to

Chris Guillebeau spent years racing against time, visiting all 193 countries before he turned 35, hosting annual gatherings of thousands, and writing bestsellers like The $100 Startup. Bu

24. 7. 2025 13:40:04 | Fast company - tech
This free site is like Google Maps for local food discovery

As my family settles into a whole new city and community, I’ve been eagerly exploring a variety of sites and services for discovering new gems and getting to know our area. And while our recent cr

24. 7. 2025 11:20:08 | Fast company - tech
He helped kids be creative. Now, he wants to do the same for CEOs

More than a decade ago, Pramod Sharma set out to make learning more engaging. Through

24. 7. 2025 11:20:07 | Fast company - tech
This tool lets users send fake legal letters that look real—without a lawyer

If you can’t afford a lawyer, it turns out there’s nothing stopping you from sending a scary-looking letter that, at first glance, seems to come from one—and hoping the recipient doesn’t read the

24. 7. 2025 9:10:03 | Fast company - tech
9 essential Perplexity AI search tips and tricks

All right, settle in, folks, because today we’re going to try to out-Google Google with the next generation of search: Perplexity.

So, what exactly is

24. 7. 2025 6:40:07 | Fast company - tech
Tokenization is gaining ground in the crypto world. Here’s what to know

Tokenization has long been a buzzword for crypto enthusiasts, who have been arguing for years that blo

23. 7. 2025 21:30:05 | Fast company - tech