Gavin Newsom could not fathom that a governor had been duped into believing a video depicting the U.S. attacking Iran was real. He took to social media and lambasted the Republican politician, as did many other netizens.
A 21-second clip went viral on social media as many believed that it was showing actual footage of Operation Epic Fury. The video showed the dramatic scene of a plane going down in the ocean in a blaze of fire. The footage seems to come from War Thunder, a World War II video game.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott was one of many who thought that the clip showed the U.S. troops in their full glory. He re-shared the clip and captioned it, “Bye bye.” A short while later, the politician realized his mistake and deleted it. But many of his 1.4 million followers had already seen it.
And Newsom was one of them. The California governor took to X, writing, “Trump’s war is so unpopular that Republicans are now resorting to posting fake footage to prop it up.”
Trump’s war is so unpopular that Republicans are now resorting to posting fake footage to prop it up. https://t.co/iTilqw2Wn7
— Governor Newsom Press Office (@GovPressOffice) March 2, 2026
He didn’t waste any time in attacking his fellow governor who had removed the clip very quickly. But Newsom may have a point when he says that there are many people who do not support the military operation in Iran.
“Disgusting and evil” some MAGA supporters have branded the attacks. Former GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene turned on Trump, saying, “All of us campaigned on no more foreign wars and regime change. Now, America soldiers are dead.” She used to be one of Trump’s strongest allies.
While the U.S. was attacking on foreign shores, Newsom’s strike were local and aimed at the Trump administration. He expanded his comments on the war on Monday after calling the Iran operation illegal.
He chose to hit a particular pain point when he said, “They’re not doing a damn thing about affordability.” He then continued that Operation Epic Fury was “making the affordability crisis worse for you as we cut taxes for billionaires, cut behavioral health funding, cut health care funding, cut food stamps, to fund a war that no one wants that was never approved by Congress.”
Newsom highlighted that Americans were not only paying the price of having their troops sent to fight a war that “no one wants,” but that it seemed as if very little was being done about the rising costs in the U.S.
Four service members have died fighting Donald Trump’s war — and he spent more time boasting about his ballroom than honoring their sacrifice. pic.twitter.com/Z7ePs4kz2n
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) March 2, 2026
Trump also honored a veteran at the Medal of Honor Ceremony on Monday. Newsom also drew attention to the fact that Trump seemed to be blasé about the death of four service members who lost their lives in the Iran operation.
He said, “Four service members died today, and Donald Trump spent more time talking about his ballroom than he did talking about the loss of those lives. Review the tape.”
It seems that Newsom found Trump’s actions to be callous. He continued, “He spent more time talking about the curtains in his ballroom than the four service members that died because of his operations and declaration of war without congressional consent.”
Trump may be taking the Iran strikes seriously. But Newsom is definitely trying to take ground on the homefront.
