Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Comment
Arwa Mahdawi

Gavin Newsom is taking the fight to Trump – but for whom is he fighting?

Gavin Newsom making a heated speech on stage
Game face … Gavin Newsom speaks at a press conference on Texas Republicans’ gerrymandering. Photograph: Caroline Brehman/EPA

Every time you think US politics could not possibly get any stupider, it does. Today’s instalment of “we live in hell, where politicians are passing around the last remaining brain cell” comes via New York and the latest shenanigans of the city’s mayor, Eric Adams. Desperate to distract voters from a steady stream of scandals, the latest of which involves a former aide giving a reporter a crisp packet filled with cash after an Adams mayoral campaign event, he is trying hard to flex his social media muscles.

This weekend, Adams joined Andrew Cuomo, the former governor who is running as an independent in November’s election, and others in mocking Zohran Mamdani, the charismatic Democratic candidate and frontrunner, for his weightlifting efforts at a community event. Adams posted a side-by-side video on X of himself and Mamdani bench-pressing with the caption: “67 vs. 33 … The weight of the job is too heavy for ‘Mamscrawny.’ The only thing he can lift is your taxes.” This post was quickly deleted and replaced with one that got Adams’s age right: he is 64.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.