Democrat attack dog Gavin Newsom’s trolling campaign has gotten to Fox News again, with a rattled host melting down over the California governor selling his own Trump-bashing merch.
Newsom, 57, has spent the summer honing a new brand of political gamesmanship with a steady drip of AI-generated memes, sardonic missives, and cheeky merchandise aimed squarely at rattling President Donald Trump and his allies.
He launched the campaign in July, at about the same time that Texas Republicans embarked on a redistricting push to secure five new seats for their party. He has worked on his own redistricting plan in California, attracting the ire of Trump’s cronies.
On Monday’s Will Cain Show, the host appeared particularly peeved that Newsom had decided to flog MAGA-style merch, including the $100 Bible, a nod to Trump’s ventures selling religious items to his faithful.
“He seems to have found ground, legs with the left by mocking President Trump,” Cain raged. “Like the ChatGPT personality, he’s just borrowing now from President Trump, copying his style with X post, now he’s even going for his own MAGA-style merch.”
He then listed some of the items for sale in Newsom’s Patriot Shop. “The shop includes items like a ‘Newsom was right about everything’ hat, or he has a Newsom 2026 mug,” Cain said.
“He even has a Bible priced at $100, and he tweets out ‘already sold out.’ His personality is just a shadow. Shadows on the wall, a Xerox copy of others... but that works on the left.”
Newsom responded to Cain directly, writing on X, “Thank you for the promotion of our ‘FANTASTIC’ Patriot Shop, @WillCainShow!!!!!"
Trump, who held a Bible upside down during a photo op in 2020, started hawking his own “God Bless the USA” Bibles in a partnership with country singer Lee Greenwood last year (Greenwood first started printing the books in 2021 and named it after his signature song, which Trump is fond of playing at his rallies). The MAGAfied scripture was sold for $60 a pop, and Trump disclosed that he’d made $300,000 in royalties from the Bibles in a financial disclosure in the run-up to the 2024 election.
Various versions of the Bible have been put on sale, including one signed by Trump for $1,000, and another $70 edition referencing the assassination attempt on Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania bearing the words “The Day God Intervened / July 13, 2024” on its cover.
The Bibles also feature the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the Declaration of Independence, and even the Pledge of Allegiance. Some Christians objected to the inclusion of those texts as potentially blasphemous.
“It is a bankrupt Christianity that sees a demagogue co-opting our faith and even our holy scriptures for the sake of his own pursuit of power and praise him for it rather than insist that we refuse to allow our sacred faith and scriptures to become a mouthpiece for an empire,” Rev. Benjamin Cremer said last year, according to CNN.
Fox News host Dana Perino suffered a double meltdown over Newsom’s trolling last week. Will Cain is the latest to take the bait.
The shop also includes a T-shirt with an image of Newsom basking in a heavenly glow, surrounded by MAGA heavyweights including former Fox News star Tucker Carlson, late wrestling icon Hulk Hogan (with angel wings and a halo), and Kid Rock. A tank top with “Trump is not hot” on it is also for sale.
His self-aggrandizing religious images poke fun at Trump’s godlike self-belief and his party’s insistence on being the traditional pious side of the political spectrum.
The meme-heavy approach to mocking Trump has rankled Fox News hosts.
“You have to stop it with the Twitter thing,” said Perino, imploring Newsom’s wife to step in. Sean Hannity bemoaned the “performative confrontational style” that only “wins you points with the loony radical base.” Fox News anchor Trace Gallagher referred to the tone as “childish.”
Crucially, Trump has also taken the bait. “Gavin Newscum is way down in the polls,” Trump claimed on Truth Social last week. “He is viewed as the man who is destroying the once Great State of California. I will save California!!! President DJT.”
Newsom’s press office hit back at Trump’s post with three snowflake emojis.
