California Governor Gavin Newsom ignited fresh political drama Tuesday after appearing to take a direct jab at President Trump’s mental fitness during a fiery exchange over California’s wildfire response.
The controversy began during a cabinet meeting when President Trump, 79, once again claimed the federal government had to “force California to turn on the water” earlier this year to fight devastating wildfires — a statement he has repeated multiple times despite California officials denying it.
Newsom fired back by reposting a clip of Trump’s remarks on X alongside a screenshot of a chat with Grok, the platform’s built-in AI chatbot. In the screenshot, Grok is asked: “Do people with dementia repeat false things over and over again?”
Grok’s response was blunt: “Yes, people with dementia can repeat false statements or beliefs, a behavior often linked to memory impairments and cognitive changes. This can manifest as confabulation… or perseveration, where they fixate on a particular idea or statement.”
The post was widely interpreted as Newsom mocking Trump’s repeated claims — and it quickly went viral.
At the cabinet meeting, Trump doubled down on his narrative. “They had no water in the fire hydrants. They had no water in the sprinkler systems that people put up in their ceilings. There was no water,” he said. “So we sent hundreds of millions of gallons a day into the Pacific Ocean. They turn a valve. The valve heads out. We turned the valve back. I actually had to do it using force.”
California’s Department of Water Resources swiftly pushed back, saying the federal government did not “turn on” the state’s water, nor did the military intervene as Trump has previously claimed. Officials clarified that federal pumps had briefly been offline for maintenance and were restarted after three days.
The tensions between Trump and Newsom have been simmering since January, when catastrophic wildfires ravaged Southern California. While Trump blames the state’s environmental policies, California officials say the water shortages during the blazes were due to “tremendous demand,” not mismanagement.
On Tuesday, Trump used the meeting to apply more pressure, directly calling on Newsom: “I’m telling Gavin Newscum by this conversation right now: turn the rest of the water on. Turn it on.”
Newsom’s latest response comes amid a noticeable shift in his strategy. In recent weeks, he has mirrored some of Trump’s combative social media tactics, posting in all caps, mocking nicknames, and even launching Trump-inspired merchandise.
The White House has not yet responded to Newsom’s post, but Trump’s team defended the president. His physician, Dr. Ronny Jackson, released a statement Tuesday declaring Trump “mentally and physically sharper than ever before.”
Meanwhile, critics point to Trump’s recent string of verbal slip-ups — from confusing Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer with South Dakota’s Kristi Noem, to mistakenly referring to the Democratic Republic of the Congo as “the Republic of Condo,” and even calling St. Petersburg by its Soviet-era name, “Leningrad.”
The escalating feud between Newsom and Trump comes as wildfires continue to burn across California, fueling broader debates over federal response, state policies, and the president’s mental sharpness.
Discover more from Red News Nation
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
When some thing like a Politician like Newsom says or comments some things, one wonders what Newsom want to say and why Newsom says so about Trump’s cognitive decline: What does Newsom know, what is his educational qualification: is Newsom a educated idiot???
David.
>
He\’s a complete evil moron Sent via the Samsung Galaxy S24+, an AT&T 5G smartphone
Trump is more on his game then Newson will have on his best day!!!