California Gov. Gavin Newsom has figured out the best way to get under President Trump’s skin. 

Act like him. 

In a bid to provoke Trump and mobilize his supporters within the Democratic Party, Newsom has adopted strategies reminiscent of Trump’s tactics, emulating everything from the former president’s social media behavior to his fiery speeches.

Recently, the governor of California has highlighted his own “amazing” midterm redistricting plan and his “amazing” rally as a nod to Trump’s boastful style.

Newsom has started to write his social media posts in ALL CAPS, just like the president.  

Moreover, Newsom has coined a Trump-like moniker for the ex-president: TACO, an abbreviation for Trump Always Chickens Out, a nickname that emerged on Wall Street in response to Trump’s tariff actions and is meant to irritate the White House.

This approach has attracted considerable media attention, winning points from within the Democratic ranks who are keen to see their leaders stand firm against Trump.

The HuffPost on Tuesday featured him with the headline “He’s on a troll” showing Newsom smiling. During a segment on “The Five,” Fox News discussed his attempts to echo Trump’s style.

“Democrats are done with being the nice guy party,” expressed Democratic strategist Jamal Simmons, who was Kamala Harris’s communications director in the vice president’s office. “Defending Democratic principles doesn’t require adhering to old norms, and Newsom is particularly demonstrating he’s willing to match Trump’s tactics.”

Since losing the election in November, Democrats have been rudderless and for the most part, leaderless, desperately trying to find their way out of the wilderness.

A Wall Street Journal poll out late last month showed Democrats’ popularity at the lowest point in three decades. The poll showed that 63 percent of voters have an unfavorable view of Democratic Party while 33 percent of voters have a favorable view. 

But Newsom’s recent strategy has given the party a shot in the arm, Simmons and other strategists have said. 

“Gavin Newsom is capturing the hearts and minds of Democrats,” Simmons said, adding that “people who don’t do politics for a living are asking about him and they really like him.” 

Anthony Coley, a Democratic strategist who served in the Biden administration, agreed, saying “watching him go toe-to-toe with Trump on social media an arena Trump has dominated for a decade is refreshing, energizing and even fun to watch for many Democrats.” 

A new survey out this week by Echelon Insights showed Newsom surging in a 2028 poll among likely candidates. The poll taken from August 14 to August 18 a period when Newsom dominated headlines shows the California governor in second place at 13 percent behind Harris who received 26 percent. 

In recent days, Newsom’s press officeclearly aware of the traction the governor has been getting with his new Trumpian tack— has continued to needle Trump by continuing to echo him. 

But the account isn’t just targeting Trump. It’s also going after Vice President JD Vance. On Monday the account edited a photo of the vice president onto the body of Australian breakdancer Rachael “Raygun” Gunn, who made headlines last year for a mediocre performance. 

The account also targeted other Republicans including Dana Perino, the former White House press secretary turned television host, after she slammed him for being unserious. 

“You have to stop it with the Twitter thing,” Perino said on Monday. “If I were his wife, I would say: You are making a fool of yourself, stop it…He’s got a big job as governor of California, but if he wants an even bigger job, he has to be a little more serious.” 

Support for Newsom’s social media efforts appeared to be growing. As of Tuesday afternoon, the X account Newsom’s press office had nearly 400,000 followers. 

But Kevin Madden, the longtime Republican strategist, said Democrats are making a mistake to focus on “communications tactics” when they should be focused on messaging. 

“Newsom’s strategy and approach has been reflective of that,” Madden said. “He’s got a new podcast and a more aggressive social media presence, but other than more clicks and downloads has that shifted the dynamics or public debate in his favor, or improved the national party brand?

“So far, there is little evidence of that,” Madden added. “It has, though, positioned him at the top of the party’s internal process of sorting out the next generation of national candidates and leaders.” 

Democratic strategist Christy Setzer said Newsom’s “trolling” has two main audiences: “Democrats who want someone, anyone, to take on Trump in a real way and the media, who Democrats feel have normalized too much of Trump’s insanity.” 

“I’m surprised it’s taken Democrats this long to do it,” Setzer said, calling the strategy “pretty brilliant.” 

“He’s hoping to get under Trump’s skin, and may have drawn blood on that account [and] is it just me or did Trump stop using the all-caps in his unhinged posts after seeing Newsom’s?” she said. 

Setzer added that while “no one will be Trumpier than Trump” the strategy is working. 

“…As an attention grabbing tactic, he’s already succeeded,” she said.