Politics

Newsom Hits Tired Trump With Brutal New Nickname

IT’S NOT PERSONAL, DONNY

The California governor channeled a classic movie reference to lay into Trump’s doziness.

Left, California Gov. Gavin Newsom. Right, President Donald Trump
Getty Images

Gavin Newsom mocked President Donald Trump’s habit of appearing to nod off in public settings with a nickname referencing a classic movie.

The California governor’s press office posted to X on Saturday an image collage of Trump, 79, with his eyes shut, and “The Nodfather” written below in a font borrowed from The Godfather poster.

The office captioned it, “saw this. had to share.”

The parody of the 1972 film’s name comes after Newsom previously branded the president “Dozy Don”—a mocking nod to Trump’s use of alliterative nicknames.

Just two days earlier, the Democrat’s press office declared “DOZY DON IS BACK” in a post on X with an image and video of Trump appearing sleepy as his administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Dr. Mehmet Oz, spoke in the Oval Office.

The president’s eyes seemed to shut several times as his administration announced lower prices for certain weight loss drugs for Medicare and Medicaid recipients.

In September, Newsom’s office used the same nickname after Trump rattled off several falsehoods, including “we won in 2020 big,” during his second state visit to the U.K.

The office shared a Fox News clip to X of Trump making the claim, and others, at Chequers.

“DOZY DON WHO LOOKS AWFUL RECENTLY (‘THE HANDS’) IS LYING ON LIVE TELEVISION!” the office captioned the post, parodying Trump’s bombastic writing style.

Trump’s makeup-lathered right hand and cankles were on full display during the visit. The makeup appeared to be an attempt to conceal a recurring bruise.

Red circle around Trump's hand makeup. Britain's King Charles, U.S. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump walk to attend the State Banquet during U.S. President Donald Trump's state visit, at Windsor Castle, in Windsor, Britain, September 17, 2025.
Trump’s makeup-lathered right hand and cankles were on full display during the visit. The Daily Beast/Reuters

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the bruising was the result of “frequent handshaking and the use of aspirin,” the latter of which is “part of a standard cardiovascular prevention regime.”

The White House revealed in July that Trump had been diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency, a common condition in older people where the leg veins fail to return blood to the heart.

The president has sparked much speculation surrounding his health, with his swollen ankles first noticed in July when he was photographed watching the FIFA Club World Cup final.

Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin (C-L), flanked meet during a US-Russia summit on Ukraine at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, on August 15, 2025.
The White House revealed in July that Trump had been diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency. Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast/Getty

On Friday, Trump met with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in the Cabinet Room of the White House, rather than the Oval Office. This allowed him to keep his ankles out of sight.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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