California Gov. Gavin Newsom fired back at President Donald Trump on Tuesday after the president posted a lengthy critique of the governor on Truth Social, accusing Trump of repeating falsehoods and telling him — in a message from the governor’s press office — to "take your dementia meds."
Trump, who has often nicknamed Newsom "Newscum," accused the governor of approving low-income housing in the Pacific Palisades and of "allowing their houses to burn" by refusing water from the Pacific Northwest after devastating fires in the region. Newsom’s team said those assertions were incorrect and published a list of five specific inaccuracies in the president’s post, calling one claim a "straight-up lie." Newsom also posted his own message disputing Trump’s account.
Newsom announced over the summer that the state would provide funding to rebuild low-income housing destroyed in the fires, contradicting the president’s assertion that he had approved "super luxury" developments in the Pacific Palisades. The White House claim that California declined water from the Pacific Northwest during the fires has been repeatedly debunked by state and federal officials, Newsom’s office said.
The exchange came as other Democrats publicly questioned the president’s consistency and fitness. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, speaking about Trump’s shifting public statements on a potential National Guard deployment to Chicago, suggested the president may be experiencing memory problems. "Sometimes, he forgets. I think he might be suffering from some dementia," Pritzker said, adding that Trump’s positions can vary from day to day.
Newsom’s press team has frequently used the social platform X to rebut and mock right-wing figures, and in this instance they shared a short fact-check alongside their rebuke. When a user prompted Grok, the AI tool on X, to weigh in on the dispute, it concurred with Newsom’s assessment, the governor’s office reported.
The episode is the latest in a broader debate over the president’s health and public statements. In recent months observers and some journalists have flagged visible swelling around Trump’s feet and ankles and bruising on his hands. The White House has said the swelling is the result of chronic venous insufficiency, a condition involving poor blood flow from the legs back to the heart, and attributed hand bruising to frequent handshaking combined with aspirin use.
Journalists and commentators have pressed for more information. In an opinion column earlier this month, former Politico editor Garrett Graff outlined a series of questions he said should be asked about the president’s health. The White House has released selected medical information in response to some inquiries but has not published a comprehensive recent medical record.
The clash between the governor and the president illustrates how social media has become a forum for rapid exchanges of political accusations and fact-checking. Both sides used the platforms to shape public perception: Trump through a Truth Social post that repeated longstanding criticisms of Newsom’s handling of fire recovery, and Newsom by quickly posting corrections and taunting language aimed at undermining the president’s credibility.
Newsom’s comments and Pritzker’s remark about dementia echoed a sensitive debate about how to address concerns over an elected official’s health. Medical experts caution against diagnosing public figures without examination, and ethical guidelines typically limit third-party medical commentary. The White House and Trump allies have pushed back against suggestions of cognitive decline, while critics say voters deserve clear and current medical information.
As the 2025 campaign season proceeds, exchanges like Tuesday’s are likely to continue, with rapid social-media rebuttals and further scrutiny of public officials’ statements and health. News organizations and political actors remain divided over how best to verify claims and how to balance public interest in an official’s fitness for office with privacy and medical ethics.