Gavin Newsom’s Gen Z Not-So Secret Weapon
The name on everybody's lips is gonna be Camille Zapata.
Democratic politicians have normally responded to Donald Trump’s insanity with lengthy speeches about democracy, and while that might have its place on a West Wing rerun, California Gov. Gavin Newsom has recently started simply mocking Trump online. Yes, I realize that other politicians have tried mocking Trump in the past. Did you know someone recorded Nothing Compares 2 U before Sinead O’Connor? Life is hard.
The official Governor Newsom Press Office social media account regularly roasts Trump and his GOP stooges like a turkey. For example:
WHEN SPEAKER “LITTLE MAN” JOHNSON IS STANDING IN “THE UNEMPLOYMENT LINE,” HE CAN THANK DONALD “TACO” J. TRUMP. TRUMP MISSED A SIMPLE DEADLINE — SOMETHING HE HAS OFTEN DONE WITH HIS MANY FAILED BUSINESSES — NOW CALIFORNIA WILL “FIRE” HIM WITH NEW, “MORE BEAUTIFUL MAPS.” HIGHLY ANTICIPATED, “HISTORIC” PRESS CONFERENCE WITH YOUR FAVORITE GOVERNOR GAVIN CHRISTOPHER NEWSOM!!!! THANK YOU FOR YOU ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER. — GCN
The legacy press was aghast over Newsom’s seemingly unhinged rhetoric online. “What’s going on with those posts on X that are clearly trolling the president,” asked a reporter who apparently is unaware that Donald Trump is president and, well, exists.
Newsom replied, “I hope it’s a wake-up call for the president. I’m just following his example. If you have issues with what I’m putting out, you sure as hell should have concerns with what he’s putting out.” (Watch below.)
Democrats (and some Republicans) have made tepid attempts at challenging Trump’s insult comedy style of communication. During the 2016 election, Democrats started calling him “Dangerous Donald,” which is objectively the most pathetic nickname ever crafted. Politicians failed whenever they attempted to play Trump’s game on his own terms. He commanded home-field-asshole advantage. Here, Newsom is actively mimicking him — the confused, lazy old man screaming all-caps, the random punctuation, the emotionally unbalanced insults, and the extremely weird “THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER,” as if the people reading this on their phones are supposed to take immediate action. The parody is so spot-on that it highlights how ridiculous Trump is after an enabling media spent the past decade normalizing his disordered speech.
Fox News Trey Gallagher complained last week, “I don’t know what [Newsom’s] trying to do but it comes across as childish and you are the governor of the biggest state in the union, what are you doing?” This is a shameless statement, considering that the president of the entire United States has rambled online about how much he “hates” Taylor Swift and adores Sydney Sweeney because she’s apparently a registered Republican.
The Governor Newsom Press Office social media account swiftly responded:
BIRD-BRAIN TREY GALLAGHER (A SO-CALLED FOX "NEWS" HOST THAT NOBODY HAS EVER HEARD OF) SAYS MY POSTS ARE “CHILDISH” AND “UNBECOMING” OF A LEADER — CAN YOU BELIEVE IT? MANY ARE SAYING FOX ("EDIT THE TAPES") NEWS SHOULD CANCEL HIS PATHETIC LITTLE "BEDTIME SHOW" IMMEDIATELY. THEY ARE CALLING IT THE MOST BORING PROGRAM IN CABLE HISTORY. TOTAL SNOOZE FEST! SAD!!! — GCN
Fox News host Dana Perino also bemoaned Newsom’s lack of decorum the other day. Last year, she claimed Trump had the “moral high ground” over Democrats, so maybe she’s the one trolling us.
DANA "DING DONG" PERINO (NEVER HEARD OF HER UNTIL TODAY!) IS MELTING DOWN BECAUSE OF ME, GAVIN C. NEWSOM! FOX HATES THAT I AM AMERICA’S MOST FAVORITE GOVERNOR ("RATINGS KING") SAVING AMERICA — WHILE TRUMP CAN’T EVEN CONQUER THE “BIG” STAIRS ON AIR FORCE ONE ANYMORE!!! TRUMP HAS “LOST HIS STEP” AND FOX IS LOSING IT BECAUSE WHEN I TYPE, AMERICA NOW WINS!!! THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER. — GCN
Some leftists who are never happy as rule have joined Perino and Gallagher and criticized Newsom for imitating Trump’s social media style. Apparently, that’s the next step toward full-blown fascism. These people are both wrong and boring, my least favorite combination.
Of course, Newsom doesn’t personally write these posts, which is not surprising. Politicians have long had speech writers. Newsom has hired a communications director who is smart, conscious, and alive. (Based on Democratic House Leader Hakeem Jeffries’s interviews, his comms team is 0 for 3.)
Camille Zapata is Newsom’s digital director, a job title that would likely confound mainstream Democrats who just post photos of tedious written statements that refer to “strongly worded letters” they’ve sent. Zapata is 29 years old and can speak fluent meme.
Zapata’s team does a masterful job emulating Trump’s toxic narcissism and delusional megalomania. Here’s an example after Trump’s humiliating meeting with Vladimir Putin.
Now compare to Senate Minority Chuck Schumer’s strongly worded post.
Democrats who hate Trump but also don’t like Newsom struggled with how to respond to all this successful trolling. Now, they can freely embrace Zapata, who is young, Latina, and queer. This fires on all mainstream liberal cylinders, so the posts are no longer petty macho posturing. They’re “fierce” and maybe even “slay.” Now, avowed Newsom haters are reposting the Governor Newsom Press Office account but insisting that we put “respect” on Zapata’s name. As a writer, I can appreciate this demand for authorial credit, though Zapata herself stresses that she’s part of a team not a solo act.
Zapata isn’t exactly toiling away anonymously, like whoever wrote Shakespeare’s plays. She was profiled in July’s Comstock’s magazine as a “rising star.” The accompanying photo featured Zapata with her pit bull named “Graham Cracker.”
“I have a very hectic life,” laughs Zapata, 29. “My mom is always like, ‘When are you going to just breathe a little bit?’ But I have the endurance. I’ll just keep going.”
The self-described “Zillennial” — on the cusp between Generation Z and Millennials — leads a team of three that handles everything from graphic design to social media, as well as rapid response. “We are living in a crazy time,” she says. “So rapid responses on Twitter, Threads, BlueSky, are really essential.”
Zapata told Comstock that she and her team grew up in the digital space, which gives them an advantage when reaching people under 40, most of whom get their news primarily from TikTok. Zapata has taken Newsom’s own TikTok account from 500,000 followers to 1.5 million.
She was previously Chief of Staff for San Joaquin County Supervisor Kathy Miller, and she managed the 2020 campaign for State Sen. Susan Talamantes Eggman.
Newsom is 57, which is late adolescence for Democratic politicians but he’s probably not a natural TikTok whiz. He couldn’t do this without Zapata, and she couldn’t do this alone. Yes, the trolling is probably more effective because Newsom presents as an otherwise normal white male. Politics isn’t fair. That’s why it’s called “politics” and not “fairness.” Also, Newsom is aping an old white guy, so the jokes probably land better if they seemingly come from another white man. It’s the inverse of the “Jokes Seth Can’t Tell” bit on Late Night With Seth Meyers.
It’s nice to see Zapata in particular receive so much attention for their great work, but I do worry about Trump and MAGA having a non-Newsom face to hit back at. Sometimes, it’s best for even online snipers to remain in the shadows.
Viva Zapata!
Zapata is brilliant. She, AOC and Mamdani make up the future of the Democratic Party says this (old) leftist.