“Morning Joe” host Joe Scarborough is not impressed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s latest attempts at breaking the Internet.
The Democratic governor has started to mimic President Donald Trump on his social media pages, using all-caps, loads of exclamation points and inflammatory language. Though the politician has certainly captured the Internet’s attention, the MSNBC anchor does not think it’s for the right reasons.
“You can see the Democrats are trying to find their footing,” he said on Wednesday’s show. “It’s quite embarrassing, actually.”
Scarborough’s biggest critique was that the Democratic politician, potentially positioning himself to run for the highest office in the land in 2028, is targeting the wrong competitor.
“Donald Trump is not on the ballot in ’26, he’s not on the ballot in ’28,” he said. “You’re not running against Donald Trump. Go after Tweedledee or Tweedledum.”
“I have a good idea instead of trying to school Donald Trump, talk into the camera about affordability,” the former politician offered to his peers. “Talk about making groceries more affordable. Talk about what you’re going to do for housing. Talk about what you’re going to do for energy prices that continue to go up.”
MSNBC co-anchor Willie Geist added that this ploy is part of Newsom’s attempts at capturing the zeitgeist and staying relevant in a fast-paced attention economy.
🚨 HOLY CRAP! Gavin Newsom has just lost left-wing Morning Joe, who is calling his impersonation of Donald Trump an "embarrassment."
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) August 20, 2025
"It's quite embarrassing, actually. Gavin Newsom, you see what he's doing online? […] Don't try to turn the ship 180 degrees. They don't know… pic.twitter.com/wT0z57gkm7
“This is the attention economy that Gov. Newsom understands,” Geist said. “You got to get attention somehow, so he’s on social media doing parodies of Donald Trump … I think he’s looking beyond 2026.”
Looking towards the midterms and upcoming general election, Scarborough cautioned that the Republicans also need to evolve past President Trump. Without him and his MAGA stronghold, Scarborough warned that the Republican party looks weak.
“The biggest problem is Donald Trump’s not going to be on the ballot next year,” he reiterated. “Republicans don’t do well when Donald Trump’s not on the ballot.”
