Gavin Newsom's feud with President Trump erupts over California ‘zombie’ claim 27%

By Nina Joudeh81%

5/18/2026, 2:38:31 AM

BS Summary: This article contains 8 faulty reasoning types, including Negativity Bias, False Dilemma, and Quote-first Misdirection, with Ad Hominem as the most egregious example at 55.6% saturation with 198 hits. Analysis detected 518 faulty-reasoning hits from 356 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 38.3% and a BS Rank of 27% (12,339 of 16,813 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 73.40% of the article peer group.

The ongoing feud between President Donald Trump and California Gov. 
Gavin Newsom flared up once again Sunday  sparked by a fresh round of social media barbs  including an image of a zombie Gov. 
Trump grabbed attention by sharing an image of a mock California license plate reading “NEW-SCM,” featuring Newsom in the middle depicted in a zombie-like state. 
The post racked up more than 135,000 views after Newsom’s press office reposted the dig and wrote, “Even a Zombie Newscum still looks healthier than our current President. 
#PrayersforGrandpa.” 
Trump’s jab came in response to Newsom’s own social media swipe earlier that day, when the governor’s press office posted an image of Trump flanked by security alongside what appeared to be an alien figure in chains. 
“The President of the United States just posted this. 
Do you think he’s lost it?” 
the caption read. 
The escalating online spat is just the latest in a long-running war of words between the two political heavyweights. 
Back in January, Trump blasted Newsom as a “Lame Duck” making a “mockery of himself” on the world stage during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. 
Trump accused Newsom of prioritizing international attention while California continued to battle crime, drought, and wildfire devastation. 
“He should finish his monstrously ‘over budget and behind schedule’ Railroad, from San Francisco to L.A., one of the Greatest Public Disasters in History, and focus on stopping Crime in the streets of California Cities  Then finish out his term, and GO HOME!” 
Trump wrote at the time. 
The White House also previously told The California Post that Newsom should “stop undermining the United States on the world stage” and focus on fixing his “broken” home state. 
Newsom, meanwhile, has continued firing back, with his press office calling Trump a “deranged, habitual liar” and mocking his “little fingers” after the president launched a fraud investigation into California. 
As both men continue trading increasingly personal attacks, their bitter political rivalry shows no signs of cooling down  especially with Newsom’s eyes on a run at The White House. 
Confirmation Bias
0%
Anchoring Bias
0%
Availability Heuristic
0%
Representativeness Heuristic
0%
Hindsight Bias
0%
Overconfidence Bias
0%
Framing Effect
8.1%
Loss Aversion
0%
Status Quo Bias
0%
Sunk Cost Effect
0%
Optimism Bias
0%
Pessimism Bias
0%
Negativity Bias
31.7%
Self-Serving Bias
0%
Fundamental Attribution Error
4.8%
Actor-Observer Bias
0%
In-Group Bias
0%
Out-Group Homogeneity Bias
0%
Halo Effect
0%
Horn Effect
0%
Dunning-Kruger Effect
0%
Recency Bias
0%
Primacy Effect
0%
Blind-Spot Bias
0%
Ad Hominem
55.6%
Straw Man
0%
Appeal to Authority
0%
False Dilemma
25.3%
Slippery Slope
0%
Circular Reasoning
0%
Hasty Generalization
1.7%
Red Herring
0%
Bandwagon
0%
Appeal to Emotion
0%
Begging the Question
0%
Post Hoc (False Cause)
0%
Tu Quoque
7.9%
Burden of Proof
0%
Appeal to Nature
0%
Composition/Division
0%
Anecdotal
0%
No True Scotsman
0%
Ambiguity (Equivocation)
0%
Gambler’s Fallacy
0%
Middle Ground
0%
Personal Incredulity
0%
Special Pleading
0%
Genetic Fallacy
0%
Unattributed Quote
0%
Quote-first Misdirection
10.4%
Biased Writer Voice
0%
Indoctrination
0%
Politically Left Leaning Bias
0%
Politically Right Leaning Bias
0%
Attempt to Sell a Product or Service
0%

356 words analyzed.

Analysis

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