California Gov. Gavin Newsom has revealed how and why President Donald Trump came up with the idea of his popular nickname for Newsom.
Speaking on “The Rest is Politics” podcast, Newsom shared that Trump called him at roughly 1:30 or 2 a.m. ET last year. After checking his voicemail, Newsom returned the call and spoke with the president.
It was on that phone call that Trump shared his thoughts on an ideal nickname for one of his more notable rivals. The name, which is slightly inappropriate, is a play-on-words of Newsom’s surname.
“And he goes, ‘Pretty original, right?’” Newsom recalled.
For his part, Newsom wasn’t too impressed.
( @realDonaldTrump – Truth Social Post )
( Donald J. Trump – Feb 16 2026, 6:54 PM ET )
Heading to D.C. Will give an Air Force One Press Conference, shortly. Marco was fantastic in Munich! AOC and Newscum were an embarrassment to our Nation. For one thing they shouldn’t be… pic.twitter.com/wKkKTcZrMa
— Fan Donald J. Trump 🇺🇸 TRUTH POSTS (@TruthTrumpPosts) February 17, 2026
“I said, ‘No, it’s not original,’” Newsom explained. “I said, ‘Mr. President, in eighth grade … they were calling me [that name].’”
Trump has also previously referred to Newsom as “Slimy.” However, the new name has quickly become Trump’s preferred moniker for the 58-year-old governor.
Newsom joined an extensive list of politicians and high-profile figures whom Trump has bestowed a nickname on over the past decade. Some of the more notable ones include “Sleepy Joe” for Joe Biden, “Crooked Hillary” for Hillary Clinton, and “Comrade Kamala” for Kamala Harris, all of whom faced Trump in presidential elections.
More recent ones include New York City Mayor Zohran “My Little Communist” Mamdani and New York Rep. Alexandria “The Mouse” Ocasio-Cortez. Trump also used a slur referring to those with an intellectual disability when referring to Minnesota Gov. and former vice presidential candidate Tim Walz.
However, perhaps the most notable nickname not involving a politician is Mac Miller, the late rapper whose 2011 song, “Donald Trump,” became extremely popular and eventually caught the future president’s eye.
Little @MacMiller, I’m now going to teach you a big boy lesson about lawsuits and finance. You ungrateful dog!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 31, 2013
“Little [Mac Miller], I’m now going to teach you a big boy lesson about lawsuits and finance,” Trump wrote on X (then Twitter) in January 2013. “You ungrateful dog!”
Later that year, Trump remarked, “It was just announced that [Mac Miller’s] song ‘DonaldTrump’ [sic] went platinum — tell Mac Miller to kiss my ass!”
For those unfamiliar, Miller’s song wasn’t a diss or insult to Trump. In fact, Miller said in the hook that he wanted to “Take over the world when I’m on my Donald Trump [expletive].” Trump’s issue was instead that he couldn’t make money off Miller naming a song after him.
Although they’re yet to earn full-time nicknames, Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar and Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib are likely candidates to receive one sooner rather than later. Trump has been entrenched in a feud with the two ‘Squad’ members and suggested last week that both should be deported for their outbursts and conduct at the State of the Union address. The two women heckled and yelled at Trump throughout the night before leaving the event early.
Omar was born in Somalia but moved to the United States in 1995 and obtained citizenship five years later. Tlaib was born in Detroit, and her citizenship is protected under the 14th Amendment.
