The California governor leaned into Taylor Swift’s latest album this weekend, pairing a playful audio clip with photos and past posts about him — and social media ate it up.
Gavin Newsom didn’t need a press conference or a long statement to make a point. Over the weekend, the California governor posted a short, sharp social clip that married a track from Taylor Swift’s freshly released album with a photo montage of his interactions — and occasional run-ins — with President Donald Trump. The result? A cheeky, perfectly timed bit of political trolling that fans loved.
In the video, Newsom’s team picked a buoyant song from Swift’s new record and layered it over images and screenshots that highlighted the back-and-forth between the two men. Instead of firing back in kind, the governor leaned into the attention — treating public attacks and nicknames as a form of flattery. The framing turned what could have been another petty exchange into a moment of disarming humor.
Fans were quick to praise the move, showering the clip’s comments with admiration for the governor’s social media savvy. One viewer joked that Newsom’s communications staff “deserves a raise,” while others praised the post as theatrical and perfectly pitched — one succinctly calling it “chef’s kiss.” For opponents, the clip likely landed as another reminder that modern politics is as much about tone and platforms as it is about policy.
This isn’t Newsom’s first time borrowing a Swift song for political messaging. Earlier this year he used a different Swift tune to mock online sniping, turning song lines about online posturing into a comment on presidential tweets. The repetition suggests a strategy: use pop culture — especially something as culturally clickable as Taylor Swift — to make political jabs feel relatable, shareable and, crucially, unthreatening.
Taylor Swift herself has described the new track used in Newsom’s post as an observation about someone who’s made themselves a constant presence in another person’s life without their awareness — and how that can come off as attention or even strange affection. Interpreted politically, Newsom’s video flips that idea into a wry commentary: if someone is obsessively focused on you, why not treat it as a weird compliment?
My take? It’s smart politics for the attention economy era. When elected officials lean into cultural touchstones instead of shouting into the void, they amplify their message without escalating tensions. Using a playful piece of pop music frames the whole exchange as performative theater rather than an ugly feud. That lowers the temperature and invites people who aren’t politically inclined to engage — which, from a communications perspective, is precisely the point.
Still, critics will argue that governing requires more than viral clips. The risk for any politician who leans on pop culture is that style trumps substance: folks remember the meme, not the policy. For Newsom, the trick will be to balance these polished social moments with clear action on the issues Californians care about.
Whether you think it’s clever or performative, this episode highlights a bigger trend: pop music and politics are more intertwined than ever. Songs that once lived on streaming playlists now double as political punctuation marks — and politicians who understand that beat can get their message heard.
