Former DNC chair dismisses Newsom’s social media tactics mimicking Trump’s style

Former DNC chair Donna Brazile dismissed Gov. Gavin Newsom’s social media tactics against President Donald Trump on Sunday and said, “these are serious times.”

ABC’s “This Week” host Jonathan Karl read one of Newsom’s social media posts during the show on Sunday and pointed out he was mimicking the president. The ABC host asked Brazile if imitating Trump was the right approach. 

“Everybody likes a good laugh, and now he’s about to, I guess, issue his own cup and golden tennis shoes and who knows what else,” Brazile said. “These are serious times that require serious people to be at the table.”

Brazile used Newsom as an example of Democrats fighting back harder earlier in the panel discussion about how the Democratic Party has lost registered voters in record numbers, according to The New York Times.

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“The Democratic Party has outsourced so many functions to third-party organizations that didn’t produce the registration numbers. This is a wake-up call as Democrats gather, starting tomorrow in Minnesota, where we are going to have to figure out what is the road forward? We have to do the basic things. But we also have to be prepared to do what Gavin Newsom is urging Democrats of all different persuasions, fight back, punch harder. If we’re going to regain Congress and get ready for the White House, Democrats are going to have to come up with a different playbook,” Brazile said.

“We couldn’t agree more with Donna here — serious times call for a serious President. What MAGA doesn’t get is that Governor Newsom isn’t imitating Donald Trump, he’s holding up a mirror and mocking him,” Newsom’s director of communications, Izzy Gardon, told Digital in a statement.

Comedian Bill Maher praised Newsom’s tactic during his HBO show “Real Time with Bill Maher” on Friday and told his panel, “I think it’s very funny.”

“I feel like Gavin has grasped the essential thing about American culture in this day and age,” Maher said.

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“Don’t try to outsmart people,” he continued. “You have to outstupid them.”

While Maher and other outlets have praised Democrats’ possible 2028 presidential candidate for “aping” Trump, one of Maher’s guests wasn’t fond of Newsom’s antics.

“I’m not sure it’s smart,” Frank Bruni said. “Since Trump came down that escalator in 2015, Democrats have been mocking him and belittling him as a strategy.”

Newsom’s press account on X, as well as the governor’s personal account, have been imitating and mimicking the president’s social media writing style.

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Newsom has also posted links to merchandise that mocks Trump, including a red hat that reads, “Newsom was right about everything.”

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An MSNBC opinion piece deemed Newsom’s strategy effective.

“His new routine represents a rare foray by a politician from a largely milquetoast and earnest party toward something playful, transgressive and edgy,” MSNBC opinion writer Zeeshan Aleem wrote.