WASHINGTON − California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom mocked President Donald Trump with an all-caps tweet amid a heated redistricting effort in Texas that could give Republicans up to five more seats in the U.S. House of Representatives next year.
Mimicking Trump’s all-caps social media style, Newsom trolled the president as “DONALD ‘TACO’ TRUMP,” and suggested California would soon go forward with its own redistricting effor to offset the Republican effort in Texas.
The post comes as Newsom urged Trump in an Aug. 11 letter to stop the redistricting efforts, arguing that Trump was “playing with fire” and “risking the destabilization of our democracy.” Newsom added that if Trump doesn’t stand down, he would redraw the congressional map in California to counter the Texas effort.
“DONALD ‘TACO’ TRUMP, AS MANY CALL HIM, ‘MISSED’ THE DEADLINE!!! CALIFORNIA WILL NOW DRAW NEW, MORE ‘BEAUTIFUL MAPS,’ THEY WILL BE HISTORIC AS THEY WILL END THE TRUMP PRESIDENCY (DEMS TAKE BACK THE HOUSE!). BIG PRESS CONFERENCE THIS WEEK WITH POWERFUL DEMS AND GAVIN NEWSOM — YOUR FAVORITE GOVERNOR — THAT WILL BE DEVASTATING FOR ‘MAGA.’ THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER! — GN,” Newsom wrote on X, imitating Trump’s language in his Truth Social posts.
“TACO,” an acronym for “Trump Always Chickens Out,” is a reference to Trump’s ever-shifting tariff deadlines. Newsom’s post received more than 3.2 million views.
Democratic governors Kathy Hochul of New York and J.B. Pritzker of Illinois have also previously threatened to launch their own redistricting efforts that could give Democrats a boost, sparking a tit-for-tat.
Redistricting is required by federal law every 10 years following the release of new U.S. Census Bureau figures. However, Trump encouraged Texas Republicans to jumpstart the process in the middle of the decade.
The Texas Senate on Aug. 12 approved the new set of congressional lines by a vote of 19-2, according to the Texas Tribune.
The Texas redistricting effort is stalled in the state House, where most Democratic representatives have fled the state, denying majority Republicans a quorum needed to pass the measure.
Trump said Aug. 5 that Republicans “are entitled to five more seats” in Texas because of his 2024 election victory there. Republicans currently hold the U.S. House by a razor thin margin.
Newsom said that he is eyeing a special election in November so voters could weigh in on a ballot measure that would allow for a new House map in California ahead of the 2026 midterms.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Newsom trolls Trump in all-caps post promising ‘DEVASTATING’ changes
