California Governor Gavin Newsom has reignited political tensions by branding Vice President JD Vance a “dip–t” in a series of social media posts that also featured resurfaced photos of Vance in drag. The exchange followed a Monday meeting between President Donald Trump, Vance, and congressional Democrats as both parties scrambled to prevent a government shutdown that could take effect as early as Wednesday.
Despite the urgency, little progress was made, with each side accusing the other of stalling before Tuesday’s midnight deadline. After the meeting, Vance criticized Democrats for their approach to budget negotiations. “You don’t put a gun to the American people’s head and say, ‘Unless you do exactly what Senate and House Democrats want you to do, we’re going to shut down your government,’” Vance said outside the White House. “That’s exactly what they’re proposing out there.”
Vance accused Democrats of pushing an agenda that prioritized funding for immigrants at the expense of American citizens. “Democrats are basically saying to the American people, we want to give massive amounts of money… to illegal aliens for their health care while Americans are struggling to pay their health care bills,” he continued.
“We thought it was absurd, we told them it was absurd, and now they come in here saying that ‘if you don’t give us everything we want, we’re going to shut down the government.’ We think that’s preposterous.”
“I think we’re headed to a shutdown because the Democrats won’t do the right thing,” Vance added. “I hope they change their mind.”
Newsom quickly hit back online, calling the remarks “Blatantly false, you dips–t.” His press office piled on with an all-caps message mocking both Vance and Trump. “WOW!!! DOZY DON WAS FAST ASLEEP WHILE JD ‘JUST DANCE’ VANCE HELD HIS WEAK LITTLE PRESS CONFERENCE. TOTAL SOAP OPERA … VERY BAD ACTING, AWFUL DANCING (WAY TOO MUCH ‘EYELINER’) SAD!!! TRUMP’S ‘BIG UGLY SHUTDOWN’ IS A DISASTER.”
Later that evening, Newsom’s team posted an old image of Vance in drag during his Yale Law School days. The move was framed as a jab at conservative backlash over Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny being named the Super Bowl 2026 halftime performer. The musician, who boasts 77 million monthly Spotify listeners, has been an outspoken critic of Trump.
Newsom’s approach mirrors Trump’s combative online style, a tactic he has used in recent months to frustrate conservative figures. In August, Vance told Fox News’ Laura Ingraham that Democrats were trying to “be more like Trump in tone.”
Newsom’s press office fired back again on social media: “J.D. ‘JUST DANCE’ VANCE, WHO NOBODY LIKED UNTIL TRUMP PICKED HIM OUT OF THE ‘BARGAIN BIN’ IN THE WALMART CLEARANCE SECTION, WENT ON FOX TO TRASH ME, GAVIN C. NEWSOM, AMERICA’S MOST POPULAR GOVERNOR.”