California Gov. Gavin Newsom has sparked fury after jumping into a heated online clash between a top Trump aide and a US Senate aide.
The controversy unfolded Monday evening when the California governor’s press office account waded into an already escalating exchange between White House communications director Steven Cheung and Rachel Cohen, communications director for Sen. Mark Warner.
The dispute had been brewing since earlier in the day, when Cohen took aim at a television appearance by another Trump ally, writing, “WHY is CNN interviewing Tricia McLaughlin right now… What could she POSSIBLY have to say that adds to viewers’ understanding of anything??”
Gavin Newsom has sparked fury after jumping into an online clash between a top Trump aide and a US Senate aide. Nathan Posner/ShutterstockCheung quickly fired back, mocking Cohen as “a loser” and defending McLaughlin as “one of the best communicators around.”
Cohen responded with a pointed jab of her own, accusing Cheung of previously mishandling a sensitive media situation involving national security and offering to “teach” him how to do his job.
That’s when the exchange veered sharply into more offensive territory. Cheung replied: “Hey retard, you must be thinking of someone else. Nobody would ask your simple ass for help.”
The “r-word” is widely recognized as a slur against people with disabilities. In the United States, a key shift came with Rosa’s Law in 2010, which replaced the term “mental retardation” with “intellectual disability” across federal health, education, and labor laws.
Newsom’s press office X account waded into an escalating exchange between White House Communications Director Steven Cheung, pictured, and Rachel Cohen, communications director for Mark Warner. Getty ImagesIt was at that point that Newsom’s team entered the fray — sharing an image of Jabba the Hutt with the caption, “Live view of Steven tweeting this.”
The post, widely interpreted as mocking Cheung’s appearance, quickly drew criticism and shifted the focus of the controversy.
“Body shaming? That’s what Gavin Newsom is wasting California tax dollars on you to do?” one user wrote, as backlash began to build.
Jabba the Hutt stands as one of the most infamous and formidable crime lords in the Star Wars universe. His padded body makes him difficult to kill despite his slow appearance.
Some accused the governor’s office of lowering the level of discourse even further.
The Newsom X post, widely interpreted as comparing Cheung to Jabba the Hutt, quickly drew criticism. Everett Collection / Everett Collection“Damn. First a racist post, now body shaming? You really are a POS,” another user posted, while a separate critic called the jab “extremely racist towards the Asian community,” referencing Cheung, whose family immigrated to the US from Hong Kong.
The criticism didn’t stop there.
Some users pointed to what they saw as hypocrisy, noting past calls for civility from the governor’s orbit.
“Kind of funny while the governor’s wife was talking about civility towards women,” one wrote, referencing Jennifer Siebel Newsom’s prior criticism of comments made by Trump to female journalist Nora O’Donnell during the “60 Minutes” sit-down.
“Hate sells and is all the politicians can do,” one user added. “We have you over here fat-shaming people. Journalism is dead, facts don’t matter.”
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