9 Nicknames Doled Out By Gavin Newsom That Give Trump A Run For His Money

Donald Trump has given people several shady nicknames that are riddled with insecurity and have backfired on him more than once. For several years, Gavin Newsom quietly watched the president in action, even refusing to respond as he labeled the Californian governor "Gavin Newscum" in a January post on 2025 Truth Social. However, Newsom eventually decided enough was enough and sought to even the playing field with some scathing nicknames of his own. In August 2025, Trump took to Truth Social to write simply "Bela," a post that was more nonsensical than even this regular material. Newsom's press office shared a screenshot of the post on X, formerly known as Twitter, and labeled Trump: "Tiny hands." 

The governor has undoubtedly studied the outspoken politician's social media behavior closely because his X post embodied the same cringey spirit of his Truth Social ramblings, featuring never-ending sentences and ranting language presented in all caps. Meanwhile, in another tweet from August 2025, the Democrat popularized an existing, embarrassing Trump nickname: "TACO." The acronym, which stands for Trump Always Chickens Out, was bestowed upon the divisive leader by Wall Street traders due to his constant back and forth on tariffs. 

Vice President JD Vance wasn't spared either. In another tweet, the former San Francisco mayor's office hilariously christened him: "Just Dance Vance." Newsom clearly wasn't afraid to stoop to Trump's level of immaturity for his rage bait since he followed that tweet up with an image of Vance's face photoshopped onto viral Australian Olympic break-dancer Rachael "Raygun" Gunn. However, he seemed to have struck a nerve with the "Hillbilly Elegy" author because he made his dislike for the tweets clear soon after.

While appearing on Fox News in August 2025, JD Vance shared his thoughts about Gavin Newsom's attempts at Trumpism on X. "This idea that Gavin Newsom is somehow going to mimic Donald Trump's style, I think that ignores the fundamental genius of President Trump's political success, which is that he's authentic. He just is who he is," the VP opined. Additionally, Vance believed that the Democrats were better off portraying themselves more authentically. Only a month prior, Vance earned a brutal nickname for his goofy Disneyland walk, so there's a chance he may not have been emotionally ready for "JD Dance" at the time. Nevertheless, the governor of California was happy to celebrate a win for a different member from across the aisle. Responding to a tweet claiming HBO's "Harry Potter" series had secretly cast Voldemort, Newsom wrote, "Congrats [Stephen Miller]." 

The Democratic politician similarly saddled Miller with the "Voldemort" nickname in another August 2025 tweet. Then, in a message shared by Newsom's press office, he took aim at the current White House press secretary by renaming her "KaroLYIN' Leavitt." Newsom also added to the hilarious ways Ted Cruz was trolled over his trip to Mexico in 2021, amidst the Texas winter storms, by bestowing the moniker of "Cancún Cuz" onto him alongside a photo of Cruz from the airport. The outspoken leader has taken aim at several Fox News personalities on social media too including, but not limited to, "Bird Brain Trey Gallagher," "Garbageman" Greg Gutfeld, and Dana "Ding Dong" Perino. Needless to say, Newsom may have ruffled a few Republican feathers simply by playing by Trump's book.