A social media post that appears to show Donald Trump blasting Jimmy Kimmel and Gavin Newsom ahead of Newsom’s appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! Tuesday night isn’t authentic.
A purported screenshot shared on both Newsom’s Instagram and the official Jimmy Kimmel Live! account mimics a post from Trump’s Truth Social feed. In it, Trump supposedly writes: “GAVIN NEWSCUM WILL BE ON JIMMY KIMMEL’S LOW RATED SHOW TONIGHT. Two of the absolute WORST ever!! THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER. PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP.”
While the message may read like something Trump might plausibly post—he has frequently targeted both men—the post does not appear on his Truth Social feed, and there’s no evidence he actually wrote it.
The mock post appears to have been generated by Kimmel’s social media team, though it’s easy to imagine Newsom doing the same. Both men have a history of trolling the president online, and the screenshot appears designed to play into that dynamic; Indeed, it’s been perceived by many as real.
Newsom, the Democratic governor of California and a widely discussed front-runner for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination, is visiting Kimmel’s ABC late-night show to promote his new book, Young Man in a Hurry: A Memoir of Discovery. It will be Newsom’s third visit to Jimmy Kimmel Live! since 2013.
Tuesday night’s Kimmel is also scheduled to feature a performance from The Head and the Heart.
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