California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) on Tuesday mocked Vice President JD Vance following confirmation of his involvement in U.S. negotiations with Iran, roasting the “Hillbilly Elegy” author as a futile and performative part of the team with a popular social media meme.
Newsom and his team appear to have learned something from Trump and his incessant “flood the zone” strategy to dominate the discourse, imitating the president’s writing style and mimicking his posts, but this time went after the MAGA leader’s second-in-command.
Newsom’s latest jab was prompted by an Oval Office press conference on Tuesday about the Iran war, which has already killed at least 13 U.S. military service members and more than 1,400 Iranians, when Trump was asked about reports that Vance is leading negotiations.
“Well, he’s involved them,” Trump replied. “JD is involved and [Secretary of State Marco Rubio is] involved and [my son-in-law] Jared Kushner’s involved, very smart guy, and [U.S. special envoy to the Middle East] Steve Witkoff, smart guy, is involved. And I’m involved!”
Newsom’s press office went on to share a clip of those remarks on X with an accompanying video meme, which shows a young man in New York City pretending to stop an arriving train by using his physical strength, writing: “Live look at JD in the Situation Room.”
