Gavin Newsom wins Trump’s insults – and his attention |
Gavin Newsom wins Trump’s insults — and his attention
President Trump has begun to define Gavin Newsom — signaling that the California governor has moved into a small circle of Democrats he and his allies view as a serious threat.
In recent days, Trump has been road-testing attacks on Newsom’s dyslexia — which the governor recently wrote about in his new book — trying to portray Newsom as “a low IQ person” and “dumb.”
Or, as Trump declared on Monday: “I think a president should not have learning disabilities.”
The criticism, even the president’s allies acknowledge, reflects a familiar move from Trump’s playbook: highlighting a perceived vulnerability to see how it lands.
The dynamic also provides a window into Trump’s thinking on the next presidential election and who he thinks is worth his insults ahead of the midterm elections.
“This feels like something he is road-testing to see if it’s resonating,” said Republican strategist Brian Seitchik, who worked on the president’s 2016 and 2020 campaigns. “This is what the president does. He likes to get input from various folks to see what works and what doesn’t work.
“We may hear it again. We may not,” Seitchik said.
Trump has a history of seeking to define opponents — even Republicans — through repetition and ridicule, in an effort to distill political rivals into bite-sized caricatures.
During the 2016 Republican primary, he described Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) as “Lyin’ Ted” and Marco Rubio — who is now his secretary of State — as “Little Marco.”
During his 2016 race........