California Gov. Gavin Newsom used a profane metaphor to accuse President Donald Trump of toying with America and “testing” the limits of an unconstitutional third or even fourth term.
In an interview with ABC News, Newsom recounted how Trump gestured for him to look at a White House painting to hint at a “fourth” term, to which Newsom said he replied, “‘We’re perfect little sheep, aren’t we?’”
Continuing his story, Newsom said, “He’s laughing because we are. He knows exactly what we’re gonna do,” adding: “There’s a French… poem that loosely says, ‘He p—es on the grasshoppers to hear them sing.’ And that’s Donald Trump.”
Asked if he takes Trump’s musings of a third and fourth term seriously, Newsom, 58, says the former president “iterates,” throwing out ideas to normalize them. “Once a mind is stretched, it never goes back to its original form.”
It is not clear which poem Newsom was referring to, but he may be mixing up his literary references.
French author Pierre-Marie Quitard, in her 19th-century Dictionary of Proverbs, wrote, “The more we beat the drum, the more noise it makes. The Provençals express the same idea with this witty comparison: Do like the cicadas (grasshoppers), which sing when we rub them.”
In terms of Trump, Newsom may mean the president provokes the electorate, or grasshoppers, to manufacture noise, measure compliance, and move the line—using the reaction itself as a governing tool.
The mashed-up proverb fits, as the swirl of third-term talk has come lately from Trump ally Steve Bannon, 71, who boasted last week there’s “a plan” for Trump to be “the president in ’28,” leading the world to talk about it.
Although legal experts say the 22nd Amendment is a roadblock, the president told NBC News in March that he’s “not joking” about seeking a third term and that there are “methods” to get around the Constitution. He said Monday he would “love” a third term.
The Daily Beast has contacted Newsom’s press office, asking it to clarify which poem he was referring to.
Newsom’s NSFW line came during a wider interview with ABC’s Jonathan Karl that airs Wednesday evening.
In it, the California governor warns about Trump “federalizing the Guard,” “intimidat[ing]” voters, and “rig[ging]” elections.
Newsom is openly weighing a White House bid after the 2026 midterm election—and appears to be increasing his media profile to test the waters.
The Democrat told CBS News on Sunday he’ll give a presidential run “serious thought” after 2026. Polling and beltway buzz now place him among Democrats’ likely frontrunners.
Newsom continues to go after Trump on a range of issues. He mocked Trump’s $300 million ballroom as a “knock-off Versailles,” blasting the project’s optics during a shutdown and casting Trump as an “invasive species” in an X rant Monday.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Beast.
The post Gavin Newsom Has NSFW Explanation of What Goes On in Trump’s Head appeared first on The Daily Beast.
