Gavin Newsom

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About

Gavin Newsom is an American politician and businessman serving as the 40th Governor of California since 2019 as a member of the Democratic Party. Newsom formerly served as the Lieutenant Governor of California and as the Mayor of San Francisco. After Vice President Kamala Harris lost the 2024 Presidential Election to former President Donald Trump, several Twitter / X users began sharing videos, photos and memes about Gavin Newsom, some describing him as the "sociopath" that the Democrats might need to win the 2028 election. Videos of Newsom debating Ron Desantis, as well as memes comparing him to Patrick Bateman began making the rounds in November 2024. Prior to this, Newsom had been the subject of various memes since he entered the public spotlight around the early 2010s, continuing into the 2020s as his name became more well-known.

History

Gavin Newsom began his political career under San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown in 1996 and was elected mayor himself in 2003 and 2007. Newsom was then elected lieutenant governor of California in 2010 and 2014, before being elected governor of California in 2018 and 2022.

On January 4th, 2019, ABC7 News posted a video recapping Newsom's career up until his 2019 California Governor election win.^[1]

In 2021, California residents launched a vote to recall Newsom, criticizing strict COVID-19 lockdown politics that some felt were overly restrictive and economically damaging. The vote failed, and Newsom was reelected in 2022.

Online Presence

On March 30th, 2022, Gavin Newsom posted a photo to X^[2] showing him reading Toni Morrison's Beloved with a stack of books in front of him. The tweet read, "Reading some banned books to figure out what these states are so afraid of," and gathered over 93,000 likes in two years.

On November 30th, 2023, Newsom debated Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Fox News,^[3] going on to appear on Late Night with Seth Meyers on December 14th to discuss his experience.^[4]

On November 30th, 2023, X^[6] user @abughazalehkat posted a video of Newsom saying that Florida's healthcare system is the worst in America outside of Mississippi and Texas. Many internet users found Newsom's tone when he evoked "Mississippi" to be amusing, with the tweet gathering over 15,000 likes in a year.

2024 Twitter Virality

Soon after Kamala Harris lost the 2024 Presidential Election to Donald Trump, many Twitter / X users began sharing clips of Gavin Newsom, presenting him as the ideal 2028 Democratic Presidential candidate.

For instance, on November 6th, 2024, X^[5] user @WalterDeleonDC quoted a tweet that read, "The Dems/Progressives might need a sociopath," sharing a photo of Gavin Newsom holding a gun. The post gathered over 230,000 likes in five days.

On November 7th, X^[7] user @BrentColman posted a tweet comparing Newsom to Patrick Bateman and calling him "America's Psycho," gathering over 120,000 likes in five days.

On November 9th, 2024, X^[8] user @willglloyd posted a meme that compared two humorous campaign slogans for Governor of Pennsylvania Josh Shapiro and Gavin Newsom. The post gathered over 75,000 likes in two days.