Gavin Newsom’s feud with President Trump erupts over California ‘zombie’ claim

Nypost · May 17, 2026 · 356 words · By Nina Joudeh

Political Rivalry California Governance Social Media Conflict

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What to know about Political Rivalry

Gavin Newsom’s feud with President Trump erupts over California ‘zombie’ claim The ongoing feud between President Donald Trump and California Gov.

Claims checked 7

Techniques found 2

Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center50%

Right50%

2 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Gavin Newsom’s feud with President Trump erupts over California ‘zombie’ claim The ongoing feud between President Donald Trump and California Gov.

Why it matters

Gavin Newsom flared up once again Sunday — sparked by a fresh round of social media barbs — including an image of a zombie Gov.

Common ground

Trump grabbed attention by sharing an image of a mock California license plate reading “NEW-SCM,” featuring Newsom in the middle depicted in a zombie-like state.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language, Name Calling / Labeling: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

Follow-up questions

What new context would change how readers understand this Political Rivalry story?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that the governor’s press office posted an image of Trump flanked by security alongside what appeared to be an alien figure in chains?
How does this story connect Political Rivalry with California Governance over the next few days?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://nypost.com/2026/05/17/us-news/gavin-newsoms-feud-with-president-trump-er…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 2 propaganda techniques in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning

Loaded Language 85% confidence

Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.

Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.

Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

warning

Name Calling / Labeling 95% confidence

Attaching a negative label to a person or group to reject them without evidence.

Why it matters: Recognizing name calling / labeling helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 7 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

info Single Source 4

check_circle Corroborated 2

verified Verified 1

info

Claim 1: “the governor’s press office posted an image of Trump flanked by security alongside what appeared to be an alien figure in chains.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The evidence mentions a 'Dumb and Dumber' poster edit by Newsom's press office, but does not mention an image of Trump with an alien figure in chains.

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web search NEUTRAL — Newsom’s press office also customized the poster’s tagline to befit the edit, with the altered dialogue stating, “For Donald and Scott, everyday is a no brainer.” Furthermore, the post came with a tar…
https://www.realitytea.com/2026/05/15/gavin-newsom-donald-tr…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — The “Governor Newsom Press Office” account has humble origins. The handle, @GovPressOffice, was created by aides to Jerry Brown — a man more given to Zen Buddhism than the fever swamps of the internet…
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/08/20/gavin-newsom-twitte…

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web search NEUTRAL — About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How YouTube works Test new features.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s11uIW7wi-E

info

Claim 2: “Back in January, Trump blasted Newsom as a “Lame Duck” making a “mockery of himself” on the world stage during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The evidence provided consists of general Wikipedia and Britannica entries about the month of January. There is no evidence of Trump calling Newsom a 'Lame Duck' regarding Davos.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — January is the first month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. The first day of the month is known as New Year's Day.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/January

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — However, when January and February were eventually added and the beginning of the calendar year was moved to January, the position of these months no longer corresponded with the original meaning of t…
https://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/months/

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — January, first month of the Gregorian calendar. It was named after Janus, the Roman god of all beginnings. January replaced March as the first month of the Roman year no later than 153
https://www.britannica.com/topic/January

verified

Claim 3: “The White House also previously told The California Post that Newsom should “stop undermining the United States on the world stage” and focus on fixing his “broken” home state.”

VERIFIED

A web search result explicitly states that the White House told 'The Post' in an exclusive statement that Gov. Gavin Newsom should 'stop undermining the US on the world stage' and fix his 'broken' state.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — California Gov. Gavin Newsom should “stop undermining the US on the world stage” and fix his own “broken” state, the White House told The Post in an exclusive statement.
https://www.aol.com/news/california-gov-newsom-fix-own-21090…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Gavin Newsom, adding that the California governor should be "tarred and feathered."The California governor responded to Trump's arrest comment on Monday, calling it "an unmistakable step toward author…
https://abc7news.com/post/speaker-mike-johnson-backing-trump…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Cardone also claimed California's Medi-Cal program is “officially bankrupt,” highlighting Newsom’s recent request for an additional $2.8 billion to keep it running through June. This comes after the s…
https://www.benzinga.com/news/25/03/44439836/grant-cardone-s…

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Claim 4: “his press office calling Trump a “deranged, habitual liar” and mocking his “little fingers” after the president launched a fraud investigation into California.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources confirm that Newsom's press office called Trump 'deranged' and mocked his 'little fingers' (or 'shriveled little brain') in response to Trump's announcement of a fraud investigation into California.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Newsom’s press office unleashed a tirade against Trump — calling him “deranged” and saying he had “little fingers” after the president announced he was launching a fraud investigation into California.…
https://www.aol.com/news/gavin-newsom-taunts-trump-little-21…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom said President Donald Trump and his administration should proceed with their investigations into fraud and wasteful.
https://www.tampafp.com/bring-it-on-california-gov-newsom-bl…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Gavin Newsom ripped Donald Trump and his “shriveled little brain” after the president issued a chilling threat to California.Newsom's press team brushed aside Trump's threat to investigate California …
https://www.thedailybeast.com/newsom-taunts-trump-over-his-s…

info

Claim 5: “Trump grabbed attention by sharing an image of a mock California license plate reading “NEW-SCM,” featuring Newsom in the middle depicted in a zombie-like state.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The provided evidence mentions Trump ordering an investigation into Newsom and Newsom mocking Trump with a 'Dumb and Dumber' poster, but there is no mention of a mock license plate reading 'NEW-SCM' or a zombie depiction of Newsom.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — President Donald Trump orders an investigation into Gavin Newsom over California's failure to build the high speed light rail from Los Angeles to San Francis...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6U0bUF8SG_s

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Gavin Newsom has once again roasted Donald Trump, this time by sharing an edited Dumb and Dumber poster with the president's face on it.
https://www.realitytea.com/2026/05/15/gavin-newsom-donald-tr…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — This is Gavin Newsom. Photo: Tayfun Coskun / Anadolu via Getty Images. The day that launched Gavin Newsom as a presidential frontrunner also brought an unwelcome surprise that could haunt the Californ…
https://www.axios.com/2026/05/10/gavin-newsom-california-gov…

info

Claim 6: “Newsom’s press office reposted the dig and wrote, “Even a Zombie Newscum still looks healthier than our current President. #PrayersforGrandpa.””

SINGLE SOURCE

The evidence provided for this claim consists of irrelevant search results regarding Bing's 'Quote of the Day' and 'Word of the Day'. There is no evidence of the specific quote or repost mentioned.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Feb 15, 2023 · This is Bing's Quote of the Day on Feb 15: A house divided against itself cannot stand. Abraham Lincoln 16th president of the United States Pretty sure someone else said it first, Bing.
https://www.reddit.com/r/MicrosoftRewards/comments/112t4ri/q…

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web search NEUTRAL — May 28, 2023 · On the day that I posted this, 5-28-2023, it would have been an entire year since I started collecting the daily word that Bing offers every day. For those of you don’t know, if you sea…
https://www.reddit.com/r/bing/comments/13u9qac/ive_been_coll…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — May 20, 2023 · 240 votes, 16 comments. 80K subscribers in the bing community. A subreddit for news, tips, and discussions about Microsoft Bing. Please only submit… A subreddit for news, tips, and disc…
https://www.reddit.com/r/bing/comments/13mnmmj/interesting_q…

check_circle

Claim 7: ““He should finish his monstrously ‘over budget and behind schedule’ Railroad, from San Francisco to L.A., one of the Greatest Public Disasters in History”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources confirm that the high-speed rail project from San Francisco to LA is over budget and behind schedule, and specifically note that President Trump and his administration criticized these cost overruns and delays.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — ‘The high speed rail project has just stubbornly refused to die despite it costing California so much’.Last year in March, the California High Speed Rail Authority (CHRSA) confirmed that the system st…
https://californiaglobe.com/fr/gov-newsom-heralds-in-the-tra…

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web search NEUTRAL — California voters are still hoping for the state’s high-speed rail project to get built despite the fact that it is billions over budget, had its federal support yanked and is years behind schedule, a…
https://thedailybs.com/2025/08/22/californians-still-clingin…

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web search NEUTRAL — President Donald Trump and Duffy have both criticized the decades-old California project for its cost overruns and many delays that have kept the train that's designed to connect San Francisco and Los…
https://www.designdevelopmenttoday.com/news/news/22950804/tr…

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.