As you’ve probably noticed, Gov. Gavin Newsom hired a new social media team a few months ago and their general approach is to attack people on the right by saying whatever pops into their heads. Frequently that meant profanity or mocking public officials like a teenager might.
😮 Over the last few days, the official @cagovernor @gavinnewsom press office account – @govpressoffice – has become totally unhinged, using profanity, calling @StephenM “Voldemort”, calling people “SICK,” and mocking @KristiNoem
New intern or did Newsom take over the account? pic.twitter.com/RaoqSQYeYx
— Houman David Hemmati, MD, PhD (@houmanhemmati) June 11, 2025
This has gotten Newsom in trouble a few times but the 3 or 4 people running his account have been a hit with the base. They love the spicy Newsom memes.
So it’s a bit of a surprised to see Newsom actually apologize for something put out by his team. Even more so because the person pressing him on this was Ben Shapiro.
.@GavinNewsom WALKS BACK calling ICE operations “state-sponsored terrorism”:
Shapiro: Your press office said it was “state-sponsored terrorism.”
Newsom: “Yeah…”
Shapiro: “Our ICE officers obviously are not terrorists…”
Newsom: “Yeah, I think that’s fair.” pic.twitter.com/ltjehS6ZVJ
— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) January 16, 2026
Here’s the tweet. It’s real and as you can see it has 51,000 likes.
STATE. SPONSORED. TERRORISM.
— Governor Newsom Press Office (@GovPressOffice) January 8, 2026
Even more surprising, CNN asked Rahm Emmanuel what he thought about Shapiro’s point and Rahm just dodged the question.
Former Obama and Biden Official Rahm Emanuel refuses to condemn Gavin Newsom calling ICE “state-sponsored terrorism.”
CNN: “What do you think?”
EMANUEL: “Uh… Ronald Reagan…” pic.twitter.com/8AvxBrNG6S
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) January 16, 2026
I haven’t seen the full discussion with Newsom and Shaprio yet but Fox News describes what happened next.
Shapiro went on to ask Newsom whether the state of California could do more to cooperate with ICE officers to prevent tragedies.
“That’s exactly what they do in California,” Newsom said. “And we have over 10,000 that I’ve cooperated with since I’ve been governor of California. We work very directly with ICE as it relates to [California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation] state prison. California has cooperated with more ICE transfers probably than any other state in the country. And I vetoed multiple pieces of legislation that have come from my legislature to stop the ability for the state of California to do that.”…
When asked by Shapiro, Newsom also criticized calls to “abolish ICE,” saying he disagreed with the idea.
“I disagreed when I think a candidate for president by the name of Harris said that in the last campaign. I remember being on Chris Hayes hours later saying I think that’s a mistake. So absolutely,” Newsom said.
That’s a bit of a mixed message, to say the least. He’s saying he doesn’t support abolishing ICE but at the same time he’s got his PR people calling them terrorists.
In any case, people on the left are not happy about Newsom backing away from his maximalist anti-ICE stance.
Not sure why Newsom is trying to wreck his otherwise very strong chance of winning the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination by doing this self destructive podcast where he allows rightwing guests to walk all over him and then promote clips online of them walking all over him. https://t.co/dKj1Mty8Sy
— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) January 16, 2026
Being slightly reasonable is totally unacceptable.
I’m being so for real, does Gavin Newsom stand firmly for ANYTHING at all? https://t.co/tCi6Ja2F4C
— Xaviaer DuRousseau (@XAVIAERD) January 16, 2026
There are lots and lots of reactions like this.
Gavin Newsom is weak and spineless on all accounts. Nominating him in 2028 would be a very grave mistake. https://t.co/9YH5BVtJSv
— Landon Best 🔰🗽 (@Best4Liberty) January 16, 2026
It is so state-sponsored terrorism!
This is pathetic but unsurprising from Gavin. ICE’s deployments are the definition of state-sponsored terrorism. They are literally intended to terrorize communities Trump wants to punish. https://t.co/pWBWIrBXKX
— Krystal Ball (@krystalball) January 16, 2026
Anyway, you get the idea. But Common Dreams (a lefty site) reports there’s a lot more capitulation from Newsom in the full podcast.
This clip showed only one of several instances during the nearly two-hour interview in which Newsom rolled over to his guest’s pro-ICE framing.
When Shapiro interrogated Newsom about California’s supposed “sanctuary state” policy and suggested the state should “cooperate with ICE in the vast majority of cases,” Newsom responded: “That’s exactly what they do in California.”
Newsom then boasted that there have been “over 10,000” deportations he’s cooperated with since he became governor of California.
So lots of disappointment with Newsom for not acting like a nutjob extremist because, apparently, that’s what it takes to win.
If you get cooked by Ben Shapiro you don’t have a chance against Vance. https://t.co/6JGDolPkT0
— Joe Wrote (@joewrote) January 16, 2026
Personally, I’ll give Newsom some grudging credit for admitting he went too far, but of course it won’t change whatever pops out of his comms team next. No one is getting fired over this. The same crew of morons will be back at it next week and Newsom will happily accept all the applause he gets from the far left for it. He only plays at being reasonable when he can’t avoid it.
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