Newsom Skewers White House Over Obama Video, Then Shreds the Excuse and Serves Trump His Biggest Complaint on a Silver Platter
California Gov. Gavin Newsom never holds back when it comes to giving President Donald Trump a taste of his own medicine.
The Democratic politician has learned a thing or two about trolling from his biggest political rival, taking jabs at Trump’s mental and physical state and his inability to stay awake in a room full of cameras.
Newsom recently took aim at Trump after he attempted to separate himself from a racist video shared on his own social media account on Thursday.
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Newsom’s office openly challenged the administration’s explanation, casting doubt on claims that a staffer, not Trump, was behind the offensive clip portraying Barack and Michelle Obama as apes.
In a pointed message posted on X, Newsom ridiculed the defense by implying the president isn’t even in charge of his own posts, pairing the remark with a satirical image invoking an autopen.
“WOW! WHITE HOUSE SAYS TRUMP DOESN’T WRITE HIS OWN TWEETS??? AUTOPEN!“ Newsom’s office wrote.
The move did more than resurface scrutiny of the now-removed video, it also turned one of Trump’s favorite attacks back on him.
For years, Trump has accused President Joe Biden of relying on an autopen and suggested aides were quietly calling the shots. Newsom seized on that narrative, arguing the White House’s latest explanation mirrors the very accusations.
Readers wasted no time reacting after Newsom’s dig at Trump made the rounds. One fan said they felt the response was pure deflection, adding, “They’re totally dodging. If they were serious, they’d apologize.”
Another viewer added that blaming staff felt absurd, asking, “So now interns are getting blamed for Trump’s stupidity?”
Others were less wordy but just as sharp, with one person simply writing, “Damn. Burner,” while another fan reacted, “Love it.” One reader summed up the mood with a blunt verdict: “Post of the day.”
Newsom also never misses a chance to humiliate the president’s inability to rightfully win awards for doing something good.
In 2025, Trump, 79, lost the Nobel Peace Prize Award to Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado after he spent months complaining why he deserved the prestigious honor over anyone else.
Machado, 58, seemingly decided to kiss Trump’s ring in the hopes of getting his administration’s support for her to lead a new regime in Venezuela after a U.S. military operation captured then-president Nicolás Maduro on Jan. 3.
During a White House meeting in January, Machado presented Trump with her Nobel Prize medal. Critics blasted the Caracas-born activist for bending the knee, a gift that many felt came out of pity and desperation.
Newsom, 58, joined the online pile-on of Trump happily accepting a second-hand award. The governor’s official press office account on X shared a photoshopped picture mocking the Republican leader’s odd fixation with trophies.
“We’re so lucky to have such an accomplished president!” Newsom’s team wrote as the caption of a fake pic of Trump demanding a young boy contribute to a fictional “Trump Trophy Drop-Off Center” set up outside the White House.
The phony photo also featured over a dozen golden cups placed on a table on the lawn and in a box on the ground. Trump is depicted as pointing at the collection of unnamed awards with an open mouth and a scowl.
Newsom’s staff garnered plenty of co-signs for the edited takedown of the commander in chief. For instance, one reply on X read, “Good one!! Trump has no integrity.”
“Poor guy never won a trophy when he was younger. He’s a man-baby,” expressed a second Trump detractor. Another faultfinder responded to the president being clowned by simply exclaiming, “Hilarious and sad!”
One poster jokingly tweeted, “I heard he also won Miss Teen USA!! Proud of him… well deserved.” That wisecrack has a personal connection to Trump, as the billionaire owned the teenage beauty contest from 1996 to 2015.
“What an absolute loser,” someone declared about Trump in response to the Newsom press office’s gag.
Additionally, trolls had a field day creating memes that made fun of Trump. One concept had the MAGA frontman gleefully accepting “The Karate Kid” character Daniel LaRusso’s 1984 All Valley Karate Championship trophy.
One of the most viral AI-generated images showed a smiling Trump being handed a Grammy Award Millie Vanilli the 1980s-era pop music duo that got exposed for not actually singing the vocals on their hit records such as “Girl You Know It’s True” and “Blame It on the Rain.”
Newsom has been part of the digital vanguard trolling Trump since the former reality television show star was inaugurated for a second, nonconsecutive term as president of the United States in January 2025.
In particular, Newsom adopted mimicking Trump’s brash communication style centered around mockery and name-calling as a way to point out the GOP’s hypocrisy about adhering to decorum and social norms.
The politician-turned-podcaster often triggered conservatives in the same manner in which Trump spent a decade intentionally poking his political adversaries with inflammatory rhetoric.
Newsom was not the only high-profile Trump heckler to ridicule the real estate mogul over his seemingly excessive need to be praised. After Machado handed over her Nobel medal to the president, late-night comedian Jimmy Kimmel mockingly offered his longtime antagonist his various industry awards, including his Soul Train Award for White Person of the Year, if the president would agree to remove ICE agents from Minnesota.
