California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s deliberate imitation of President Donald Trump’s online persona irked Fox News host Dana Perino, who called the governor’s social media experiment “embarrassing” and urged him to stop.
Newsom’s press team’s social media account has spent the past week posting in a style meant to mimic Trump, including heavy use of capital letters, insults aimed at rivals and signing off using “thank you for your attention to this matter!”
Fox News, however, appears more upset at the parody than at the original.
On Monday’s edition of “The Five,” Perino said Newsom was “making a fool of himself” and suggested his wife should intervene.
“You have to stop it with the Twitter thing,” she said. “If I were his wife I would say, ‘You are making a fool of yourself, stop it!’”
Perino also hinted at Newsom’s possible national ambitions.
“Do not let your staff tweet — and if you are doing it yourself, put the phone away and start over,” she said. “He’s got a big job as governor of California but if he wants an even bigger job he has to be a little more serious.”
Perino said afterwards on X that she critiqued the governor because “copying isn’t a good look.”
Perino: You have to stop at with the Twitter thing. If I were his wife, I would say you are making a fool of yourself, stop it… He's got a big job as governor of California but if he wants an even bigger job, he has to be a little more serious. pic.twitter.com/Vi8eifx4pb
— Acyn (@Acyn) August 18, 2025
“Unreal that these MAGA zombies don’t get the bit. And completely confirms the point of the bit, which is almost like a work of art,” wrote former Obama national security adviser Ben Rhodes on X.
The governor’s office appeared to welcome the Fox coverage, reposting footage of Perino’s segment with the caption: “ALMOST A WEEK IN AND THEY STILL DON’T GET IT.”
Newsom’s office account has in recent days referred to Fox host Tomi Lahren as “woke,” called South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem “Commander Cosplay.” During Trump’s recent summit with Vladimir Putin in Alaska, the account posted a parody all-caps rant that ended: “ENJOY YOUR FLIGHT HOME, DONALD — YOU’RE PUTIN’S PROBLEM NOW. I’M AMERICA’S SOLUTION. — GCN.” The account has also recycled some of Trump’s favorite insults against him, including calling him “Low IQ” and “low-energy.”
Newsom told reporters last week the effort was meant to draw attention to how Trump’s erratic posts have been normalized.
“If you have issues with what I’m putting out, you sure as hell should have concerns with what he’s putting out as president,” he said.
