Gavin Newsom’s press office called out “idiot” White House Communications Director Steven Cheung for his attempted online attack of the California governor.
Cheung, in a profane post on X, claimed the Democrat was “too chicken s–t to take questions from the press” after his speech Thursday about congressional redistricting to counter similar GOP moves in Texas and other red states. Except that’s exactly what Newsom did.
Less than fifteen minutes after Cheung called Newsom a “coward” and “beta cuck,” the governor’s press office shot back in the replies.
“Questions are streamed here you idiot,” they wrote, linking to a question-and-answer session in which the governor fielded nine questions from reporters.
Questions are streamed here you idiot.https://t.co/Bklaj5ichW
— Governor Newsom Press Office (@GovPressOffice) August 14, 2025
The Newsom account highlighted Cheung’s mistake in another post—this one directed to the public.
“Steven Cheung (incompetent Trump staffer) doesn’t know how to use his computer. SAD!” they wrote, adopting Donald Trump’s style of posting.
The White House did not immediately respond to the Daily Beast asking if Cheung plans on deleting or editing his post.
The recent trend by Newsom’s press team of imitating Trump’s tone was the topic of one of the questions Newsom responded to in the Q-and-A.
“I hope it’s a wake-up call—the president of the United States, sort of following his example,” Newsom said.
“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,” he continued. “So, to the extent it’s got some attention, I’m pleased, but I think the deeper question is: how have we allowed the normalization of his tweets and Truth Social posts over the last several years to go without similar scrutiny and notice.”
For days, that account has been aiming to make Trump aware of the purpose of Newsom’s speech Thursday: announcing a November special election to vote on proposed new maps to nullify GOP-friendly redistricting in red states.
Newsom reiterated to reporters Thursday that if states like Texas, Florida, Missouri and Indiana call off their “unprecedented, mid-decade, hyper-partisan gerrymander to rig the upcoming midterm elections,” then California’s redistricting effort won’t be necessary.
But there don’t appear to be signs of Republicans backing down.
“Gavin Newsom’s latest stunt has nothing to do with Californians and everything to do with consolidating radical Democrat power, silencing California voters, and propping up his pathetic 2028 presidential pipe dream,” National Republican Congressional Committee spokesperson Christian Martinez said.
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