When California Governor Gavin Newsom’s TikTok account posted a “f*** around and find out” meme aimed at the Department of Defense, it wasn’t just a bold move—it was perfectly timed.
The post dropped alongside the state’s announcement that it was suing the Trump administration over its June 7 order to deploy National Guard troops to Los Angeles for immigration raids. The 25-year-old staffer behind the account had been sitting on the idea of using that meme for weeks, waiting for the perfect moment to deploy it. That same week in June, Governor Newsom's posts generated 79.5 million TikTok impressions—including 17.2 million on the governor’s video address alone.
