California Gov. Gavin Newsom Trolls ‘TACO Trump’ With a Truth Social-Style All-Caps Blast

California Governor Gavin Newsom has escalated his public feud with President Donald Trump over what he describes as an “unprecedented, hyper-partisan” effort by Republicans to redraw congressional districts mid-decade.

In a pointed and theatrically worded social media campaign, Newsom accused Trump of orchestrating a redistricting strategy intended to give the GOP a decisive advantage in next year’s midterm elections.

Traditionally, congressional maps are redrawn once every 10 years following the national census. However, Newsom alleges that Trump has been pressuring several Republican-led states to engage in immediate mid-decade redistricting—an unusual move widely criticized by Democrats as a direct attempt to manipulate electoral outcomes.

In a formal letter to the president on Monday, Newsom urged Trump to abandon what he called an “unprecedented, mid-decade, hyper-partisan gerrymander to rig the upcoming midterm elections.” The governor warned that if these efforts did not cease, California would consider taking extraordinary measures of its own.

“If you will not stand down, I will be forced to lead an effort to redraw the maps in California to offset the rigging of maps in red states,” Newsom wrote. “But if the other states call off their redistricting efforts, we will happily do the same. And American democracy will be better for it.”

When no response came, Newsom amplified his message on Tuesday through an intentionally over-the-top, all-caps social media post—styled in the exaggerated tone often associated with Trump’s own online persona.

In the post, Newsom mockingly referred to the president as “DONALD ‘TACO’ TRUMP”—a nickname used by Wall Street traders meaning “Trump Always Chickens Out”—and declared that the self-imposed deadline for Trump’s response had expired.

“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!).”

The governor also announced plans for a “BIG PRESS CONFERENCE THIS WEEK WITH POWERFUL DEMS AND GAVIN NEWSOM — YOUR FAVORITE GOVERNOR — THAT WILL BE DEVASTATING FOR ‘MAGA.’”

The confrontation comes amid what many analysts describe as a “redistricting arms race” initiated last month, when Trump urged Texas to “just do a simple redraw” of its congressional districts in an effort to gain five additional Republican seats.

This move spurred Democratic leaders in states such as California, New York and Illinois to explore possible countermeasures, while Republicans turned their attention to additional redraws in GOP-controlled states like Ohio and Indiana.

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California’s situation is more complex than that of Texas. The state’s political maps are typically drawn by an independent citizens’ commission, not by elected officials. For Newsom to proceed with any mid-decade changes, he would need to push a special ballot measure in November to authorize redistricting outside the normal post-census cycle.

The political tensions extended beyond Trump. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, speaking to Fox News on Tuesday, dismissed California’s independent commission as “a ruse,” claiming the state’s maps were already gerrymandered.

However, Newsom’s office swiftly fired back on social media, calling DeSantis “The Thirst Queen” and reminding the public of his high-profile feud with the Walt Disney Company.

That feud began in 2022 when Disney opposed Florida’s Parental Rights in Education law—referred to by critics as the “Don’t Say Gay” law—which restricted classroom discussions on sexual orientation and gender identity.

In retaliation, DeSantis and Republican lawmakers moved to revoke Disney’s self-governing status in the Orlando area. The dispute ultimately led to litigation, which was settled in 2024.