Gavin Newsom escalates trolling of Trump with Grok post on dementia

California Governor Gavin Newsom has intensified his online feud with Donald Trump, this time using Grok, X’s AI chatbot, to ask it for a response on the symptoms of dementia.

In reaction to a clip in which Trump criticised the governor, Newsom posted a screenshot of a question on Grok that asked: “Do people with dementia repeat false things over and over again?”.

The chatbot responded: “Yes, people with dementia can repeat false statements or beliefs, a behaviour often linked to memory impairments and cognitive changes.”

The 30-second video Newsom reposted showed a moment from a cabinet meeting hosted by Trump, where the US president claimed the federal government had to force California to “turn a valve” of water back on.

The widely debunked allegation is one he has been repeating since the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles at the start of this year.

Referring to Newsom as “Gavin Newscum”, Trump said he was telling him “by this conversation to turn the rest of water on, turn the water on.”

Another clip from the same cabinet meeting showed Trump describing the governor as “incompetent” before adding “he’s got some strange hand action going on, I don’t know what the hell his problem is”.

Newsom shared the clip, writing “you really want to have the conversation about hands?”.

Trump has repeatedly made false claims that the Democratic governor and other state officials refused to provide water from northern areas to fight the California wildfires.

The US president has also targeted Newsom over his opposition to mass deportation plans, sparking an ongoing feud between the two.

In June, California filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration for authorising the deployment of the National Guard amid protests over immigration raids.

More recently, Newsom, who is being seen as a potential presidential candidate for the Democrats, has gained attention for using Trump’s own social media playbook to fight back.

In a parody of Trump’s own merchandise, Newsom posted pictures of his own store, The Patriot Shop, with caps bearing slogans such as “NEWSOM WAS RIGHT ABOUT EVERYTHING!”

“I hope it’s a wake-up call to the President of the United States following his example,” Newsom recently told reporters. “If you have issues with what I’m putting out, you sure as hell should have concerns about what he’s putting out as President.”