Gov. Gavin Newsom of California revealed on Wednesday that President Donald Trump won’t stop sending him merchandise. Specifically, ‘Trump 2028′ hats.
In an interview with Politico’s Christopher Cadelago at the outlet’s California summit, Newsom expressed concern that Trump wants another term. The proof? “I have two dozen Trump 2028 hats his folks keep sending me.”
When asked by Cadelago whether he thought Trump would attempt to run for president a third time—in violation of the 22nd Amendment—Newsom replied, “Who spends $200 million on a ballroom at their home and then leaves?”
He continued, “This is serious, guys. This guy doesn’t believe in free and fair elections; he tried to wreck this country. He tried to light democracy on fire... Now he’s doing it in plain sight.”
Newsom, who has served as California’s governor since 2019, has been trolling Trump for weeks, from imitating his posting style (all-caps, ending with “Thank you for your attention to this matter”) to unveiling a plan to redraw California’s congressional maps to offset gerrymandering done by the Texas GOP at Trump’s behest.
On Tuesday, Newsom shared a post on X implying that the president had dementia, showing a screencap of a conversation with Grok where Newsom had asked the chatbot, “Do people with dementia repeat false things over and over again?”
The post was made in response to the president’s claim that he had to force California to “turn on the water” after wildfires in the state earlier this year.
Critics are concerned that the president will seek a third term despite the constitutional amendment that limits the total number of presidential terms to two. The only president to have served more than two terms was Franklin D. Roosevelt, who died in office in 1945 after 12 years as president. The 22nd Amendment was ratified in 1951.
Trump has previously said he will “probably not” seek a third term, although he admitted that he would like to run, telling NBC News in March that there were “methods” to circumvent the 22nd Amendment if he wished.
“A lot of people want me to do it,“ Trump told NBC’s Kristen Welker. “But we have—my thinking is, we have a long way to go. I’m focused on the current.”
