The mockery weapon
California Governor Gavin Newsom is not duplicating President Trump.
He is mocking Trump.
Donald Trump wants to be feared. He wants liberal tears and stories of impending doom. Those validate his power. That persona -- that brand -- is undermined when a taller, better looking, younger California governor sneers at Trump and points out Trump's foolishness. The trouble with satire is that some people don't "get it." And some people get it. but pretend they don't. But Newsom's message is clear: He is not intimidated by Trump. And he is not "going low." He is holding Trump up to ridicule.
Donald Trump's communication has worked for him. He says outrageous, hyperbolic things, both verbally and in text messages to social media, often in ALL CAPS. They make news because they are so extreme in content and tone. Trump supporters consider them Trump "truths," written on his own social media site "Truth Social." Trump critics think he looks mentally ill -- manic -- and generally unhinged.
Gavin Newsom's mimicking Trump does the work that good parody does. It points out the ridiculousness of the target. Newsom's press office and his allies are putting up images like these, mocking Trump's grandiosity and proud use of images of himself as a heroic Rambo-figure anointed by God:
Newsom duplicates Trump's ALL CAP pronouncements, and Trump's new signature line, "Thank you for your attention to this matter."
Social media trolls are adding their voices. Exaggeration become hyper-exaggeration becomes ridiculous, at which point even the most gullible person understands that Trump is being mocked.
And this:
The Fox media universe is unhappy with it, complaining that Newsom is undignified and unkind, complaints that spread the reach of the mockery.
Newsom described his intent:
I hope it’s a wake-up call for the president of the United States. I’m sort of following his example. If you’ve got issues with what I’m putting out, you sure as hell should have concerns about what he’s putting out as president. . . . I think the deeper question is how have we allowed the normalization of his tweets, Truth Social posts over the course of the last many years, to go without similar scrutiny and notice.
The real intent is to show that Democrats have a voice willing to stand up to Trump. Someone strong. Someone clear-headed and reasonable. Someone worthy of being America's next president.
I deeply regret that this is level of our political discourse.
I regret even more deeply that it seems necessary.
"When they go low, we go high." Lordy, those were the good old days.
https://www.cam.ac.uk/stories/viralpolitics
I should add: Trump really sets himself up for this mockery. It's really too easy.
Case in point:
He has turned the private presidential office adjacent to the Oval Office into what looks like a merch shop:
https://bsky.app/profile/seancasten.bsky.social/post/3lwqy4yc3fs2t
Let’s hear it for mockery. Something we can all do. Cruder than sarcasm, more powerful than a speeding satire, it’s the American Way. If Trump can stutter and wave his hands about a reporter with a speech impediment why not double-down on the mockery of his little hands. And you know what they say about men with little hands - at least according to Stormy Daniels.