California Gov. Gavin Newsom has spent most of President Donald Trump‘s second term trolling to keep the liberals happy and in his favor. But this week, his snark landed him in hot water with progressives who say he crossed a line.
What happened was that right-wing influencer Benny Johnson announced on X that he was heading to California to “investigate fraud,” and that it was the next Minnesota. Johnson mainly referenced the alleged fraud in Minnesota, which he says had “destroyed” Gov. Tim Walz’s career, and that California was “far worse.”
Newsom’s press office responded: “We’ll make sure Grindr servers are ready…”
For some Democrats, the line was a chef’s kiss-level troll. But others thought of it as an outdated joke that used queerness as a punchline.
We’ll make sure Grindr servers are ready… https://t.co/k72e6KxGTP
— Governor Newsom Press Office (@GovPressOffice) January 6, 2026
Johnson is a MAGA-aligned podcaster and influencer who makes provocative posts about high-profile Democrats. His critics often bring up the fact that he was fired from BuzzFeed after it was found that he had plagiarized dozens of stories.
For context, though, Gavin Newsom’s team’s response was a nod to a rumor that Grindr (a gay dating app) has “outages” during conservative gatherings. That claim spread more after reports of crashes at an event tied to Charlie Kirk. Snopes clarified that those reports were based on crowdsourced data from Downdetector, and Grindr said there were no such outages.
Plus, last month, a far-right provocateur, Milo Yiannopoulos, claimed on Tim Pool’s podcast that Johnson sleeps with younger men. This allegation has been denied by Johnson, who wants to challenge it legally.
But after Gavin Newsom’s post, many of his own followers recoiled. They accused Newsom of leaning into homophobia as if something was embarrassing about using Grindr. Many asked why queerness was being weaponized, even if it is against a conservative influencer. There was a similar debate when podcast host Jennifer Welch said Vice President JD Vance was a “failed drag queen.”
Gavin Newsom had been an ally of the LGBTQ+ community, but in 2025, he called the inclusion of trans women in women’s sports “deeply unfair.” That comment complicated his credentials on trans issues, which is why some weren’t willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. Others argued that the joke targeted conservative hypocrisy rather than gay people in general.
Tim Walz, on the other hand, has dropped his reelection bid amid scrutiny over Minnesota’s safety-net programs. All this while President Trump declared on Truth Social that a “Fraud Investigation of California has begun.”
In that climate, is Gavin Newsom’s online persona an asset or a liability?
NEXT UP: Gavin Newsom Embarrasses Stephen Miller’s Wife Katie on X
