In a political moment that will go down in history — or at least in everyone’s screenshots — California Governor Gavin Newsom declared himself the nation’s first official media disruptor by out-trolling the president on social media ahead of the State of the Union.
“It’s not enough to govern,” Newsom proclaimed from an undisclosed meme bunker, “you must also own the narrative with CAPITAL LETTERS.”* He then launched a barrage of posts mocking President Trump’s “big speech day” before the address had even begun — a move described by critics as “strategic trolling” and by Newsom’s aides as “the new executive order.”
In the governor’s most viral post, Newsom claimed he had accidentally stolen all the news cycles and immediately capitalized the entire sentence in what analysts are calling a bold rhetorical flourish that “ignored the linear progression of time.”
White House officials were reportedly stunned. One anonymous aide stated: “We were ready for Democrats to shout at the speech — not to pre-emptively win social media with memes about irony. It’s like sniffing your own victory perfume before the race begins.”
Conservative pundits responded with fury, calling Newsom “the troll-in-chief” and accusing him of turning state governance into “a live comedy club set.” One Fox News host demanded, “Where does he get the energy? Who funds this meme army?”
Newsom’s team defended the strategy, citing the “new media warfare doctrine” — a textbook apparently written on cocktail napkins by a focus group of TikTok influencers. “Our polls show that trolling is more effective than policy,” one campaign strategist said off the record. “This is governance by shred.”*
The backlash spiraled when a conservative tweet storm claimed Newsom was “too busy playing word games to stay grounded in reality” — prompting Newsom to reply, “Reality is what you make of it, my friend.”* That tweet alone spawned 17 trending hashtags, including #TrollingForAmerica and #CAPITALS4EVER.
Meanwhile, in the halls of Congress, lawmakers debated whether Newsom’s approach constituted “media innovation” or “a state-sponsored prank club.” A bipartisan group introduced the “No Meme Left Behind Act,” aiming to regulate gubernatorial social media use — though many members admitted they weren’t exactly sure what that meant.
Late Wednesday, Newsom doubled down with a follow-up post promising a “Meme Summit” between governors to unite state leaders in “collective trolling for good.” The invitation included animated GIFs of past political gaffes and an RSVP button that said simply, “LOL.”
Political analysts are split: some hail the governor as a visionary for 21st-century politics, others fear the country is hurtling toward epic memeocracy where truth bows to virality. But one thing’s certain: America has never quite seen a troll like Gavin — and the internet has never looked so victorious.
