If Donald Trump Is So Dangerous, Why Is Gavin Newsom Copying His Social Media Style?

For years, California Gov. Gavin Newsom has sold himself as the polished anti-Donald Trump. He's the slick-haired, camera-ready Democrat who supposedly represents everything Donald Trump is not. And he's the favorite to be the Democrat nominee in the 2028 presidential election, no doubt on a platform that he'll "fix" what Trump "broke."

That's why Newsom’s social media act is so revealing. Because the more he posts, the more it seems that he's trying to imitate Trump, the man he claims to despise. 

The polished political language is gone, at least on social media. During on-camera interviews, Newsom still talks in circles and speaks in platitudes rather than ever actually suggesting rational policy. 

But on social media, Newsom is leaning harder into combative messaging built to rage-bait and go viral and constantly keep himself in the news cycle.

Mike Hahn, the Director of Social Media for Trump’s 2020 presidential campaign and now the President of Digital Strategy and Operations at Frontline Strategies, put it plainly when he spoke to OutKick.

"I think the most prevalent person using this right now is probably Gavin Newsom," Hahn said. "He’s trying to take on the tone of Donald Trump."

Newsom certainly isn't becoming a Republican; he still holds radical left positions like men can become women, abortion is "healthcare," "climate change" is the biggest threat to the world (other than white supremacy, of course), and many others. 

But Newsom appears to be subtly admitting something Democrats would never say out loud. Trump changed the rules of political communication online, and even the people who claim to hate him are now attempting to use the system he built. Why? 

"Because it’s effective, not only just for communications on social media, but also from a fundraising perspective," Hahn said. 

Of course it is.

Trump’s Playbook: Why Conflict Beats Polish Online

Trump figured out a long time ago that social media doesn't reward people for polish, it rewards people who drive conversation and conflict. It rewards language that feels authentic and not written by some 28-year-old with "public relations specialist" in their title. 

That's where Trump easily separates himself from Newsom. Trump has never changed his attitude or bombastic style. He's the same guy that hosted "The Apprentice" and gleefully told people, "You're fired!" So when he posts on social media, it feels real. 

It doesn't feel real with Newsom. Newsom is a career politician and it shows. When he thought people wanted a buttoned-up style, that's how he presented himself. Now he thinks people want something else, so he quickly changed his persona. The irony, though, is the person he chose to imitate. 

If Newsom truly believes Trump is reckless, dangerous, and uniquely toxic to American political culture, why is the governor so eager to sound like him? Newsom essentially compared Trump to Adolf Hitler. Well, if he actually believes that, then Newsom is perfectly fine with acting like Hitler on social media. That seems hypocritical, doesn't it? 

The truth is that Democrats don't actually think Trump is Hitler. They don't think he's a dictator trying to take over the country or that his rhetoric is a national emergency. In fact, it's quite the opposite. Based on the changing social media dialogue, it appears that Democrats are jealous that Trump is better at communicating with the public than they are. 

And it speaks to how much the political culture in America has changed.

I brought this up with Hahn during the interview because I grew up in the 1990s and early 2000s and practically everyone viewed Republicans as "stuffy" or "out-of-touch." They were the party of the stereotypical country-club rich guy who thought all the kids' music "sounded like crap." Democrats were the ones who, at least in popular culture, felt like the "cool" politicians, if there was such a thing. 

Now it's practically the inverse. 

Republicans and Democrats Swapped Images

Hahn said Democrats are the ones with the "stuffy" image, while Trump made Republicans feel more relatable to average Americans. 

"Trump has made being a Republican cool again," Hahn said. "It is okay to talk like this. Stop talking like you are in a congressional hearing and to the press as if everyone understands your big words and drastic policies. Just talk like a normal person."

The old voice of politics was safe, polished, and boring; it was built for press releases and the evening news. On social media, that messaging sounds inauthentic, as if candidates and policy-makers are trying too hard to sound how they think a politician is supposed to sound.

Gavin Newsom’s embrace of a "rage-bait" tone on social media shows how Donald Trump’s online style is shaping politics, even among Democrats who claim to oppose him.

(Getty Images)

Newsom and the Democrats seem to understand that, even if many of them still come across as extremely inauthentic. 

"By taking on the more bombastic approach, the more direct-to-the-point approach, they may actually be able to resonate with some voters they have not been able to in a while," Hahn said.

People on social media are very good at spotting inauthentic language. Hahn made that point while discussing what actually works.

"At Frontline, the clients who do the best are the ones that are the most genuine," he said. "The ones that we’re trying to create a persona for, the ones that are saying things that don’t necessarily match their look or their character, those tend to do what we call ‘flop’ in the industry."

Newsom’s Newest Persona

So, is this "new" Gavin Newsom actually who he is? Or is he just trying on a new costume because the polling and focus groups told him the old one doesn't work anymore. There is a difference between sounding natural and sounding like a guy who recently decided that he needs to tweet more like an internet troll because 2028 is coming, and he wants to be president. 

Newsom has built his entire modern political identity around resisting Trump. Except his online persona tacitly admits that Trump’s style works, certainly better than Newsom's previous style (or the one before that, or the one before that). 

That's why Newsom has no problem copying the guy he called Hitler. Because he doesn't actually care about anything other than his own political aspirations. If he has to sound like Hitler to get elected, he'll do it. 

And that says way more about Gavin Newsom than it does about Donald Trump.