The never-ending saga continues in Game of Trolls, where Governor Gavin Newsomâs latest move is a threat to exile Kid Rock from California. It began when the governor posted an AI-generated meme of the musician, who is an outspoken Trump supporter, dressed like Uncle Sam with the caption âKid Rock Wants YOU to Support Gavin Newsom.â
Kid Rockâtrue to formâsnapped back with:
âThe only support Gavin Newscum will ever get out of me is from DEEZ NUTZ.â
Four score and seven brain cells ago, our forefathers did not see this coming.
Newsom upped the ante:
âI HATE KID ROCK !!!â
âŚand followed with:
âHAS ANYONE NOTICED THAT SINCE I SAID âI HATE KID ROCKâ HEâS NO LONGER âHOT?ââ
Not content with just trolling online, Newsom rolled out merch featuring Kid Rock, a falsely angelic Hulk Hogan, and Tucker Carlson praying for the governor. The $32 T-shirt is now available on his campaign siteâbecause of course it is.
And then came the pièce de rÊsistance:
âBECAUSE OF THE FACT THAT KID ROCK IS NOT IN THE BEST INTERESTS OF OUR GREAT STATE, I AM GIVING SERIOUS CONSIDERATION TO TAKING AWAY HIS RESIDENCY. HE IS A THREAT TO CALIFORNIA'S EARDRUMS, AND SHOULD REMAIN IN THE WONDERFUL STATE OF MICHIGAN, IF THEY WANT HIM. GOD BLESS AMERICA! â GCN.â
You can view the shady post below:
Unfortunately for Kid Rock, it doesnât seem Michigan wants anything to do with him:
If Newsomâs tactics feel familiar, itâs because itâs ripped straight from Trumpâs playbook of overly dramatic social-media vendettas. Kid Rockâs political idol recently threatened to revoke Rosie OâDonnellâs citizenshipâa plot twist in a feud thatâs been dragging on since 2006, when OâDonnell torched Trump on The View.
She mocked him for parading as âa moral authorityâ while rattling off his bankruptcies and failed marriages, then finished with the immortal closer:
âSit and spin, my friend!â
Nearly two decades later, Trumpâs still dizzy from it.
Needless to say, Trump never forgave her, and their feud escalated until, in 2025, he suggested she should lose her citizenship entirelyâsomething he couldnât actually do, but said anyway, because trolling doesnât require fact-checking.
Taylor Swift has also found herself in Trumpâs crosshairs.
After she endorsed Democrats like Kamala Harris, Trump fumed online:
âI HATE TAYLOR SWIFT!â
Thoughts and prayers to the president and the Californian governor's CAPS lock keys.
The presidentâwho apparently has plenty of free time these daysâdeclared Swift was âno longer hot,â the same middle-school burn Newsom later lobbed at Kid Rock. Then, in a whiplash-inducing twist, Trump pivoted to actually congratulating Swift and fiancĂŠ Travis Kelce, calling her âa terrific personâ and him âa great player.â
Genuine growth or just another PR spin cycle? In the never-ending Game of Trolls, this was Trump suddenly trying on the ânice guyâ roleâbut it fit about as well as Kid Rock in a Lincoln costume.
And for Newsom, the PR success isnât a question.
His Kid Rock trolling spree turned into an online victory lap, with supporters cheering his meme game and critics begrudgingly admitting it was funnier than most political ads.
But Newsom isnât limiting himself to social media wars. He also notched an actual legal win this week when a federal judge blocked President Trumpâs attempt to deploy the National Guard in California, citing an âongoing riskâ that the president would act unlawfully. Translation: Trump can scream in all caps online, but in court, he still has to read the fine print.
U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer reminded everyone that Congress had already settled this issue in 1878 with the Posse Comitatus Act, which flatly bans the use of U.S. military for domestic law enforcement. In other words: no, you canât send troops to babysit protesters because youâre cranky, Mr. President.
You can view the governorâs reaction to the win below:
The decision came after Trump tried to parachute the National Guard into Los Angeles in June during protests against federal immigration enforcementâdeployments that Newsom and L.A. Mayor Karen Bass called completely unjustified. And they werenât alone; legal experts pointed out that Trumpâs use of the Guard looked more like political theater than public safety.
The ruling also casts a long shadow over Trumpâs broader strategy of militarized posturing. He separately mobilized the Guard in Washington, D.C., and even threatened to send troops into Chicago, because nothing says âwinning hearts and mindsâ like putting soldiers on Michigan Avenue.
While Trumpâs authority in the capital is unique, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson wasted no time calling the threatened move what it was:
âTyranny.â
So yes, while Trump was busy cosplaying âLaw & Orderâ by siccing the military on citizens, Newsom walked away with a federal judge essentially telling the president, âNice try, but even your troll game has limits.â