Newsom's spokesperson becomes the story

The emergence of Gardon as a prominent character is a result of Newsom’s anti-Trump strategy, a “fight fire with fire” approach designed to undermine the president through imitation, using outlandish memes, hyperbole and AI-generated images. Newsom’s aides have pointed to his rising favorability ratings as evidence of its effectiveness.

“That ethos is how we’re fighting Trump and feeds into the engine of how we’re fighting Trump in these appalling times,” Bob Salladay, Newsom’s senior comms adviser and Gardon’s boss, told Playbook. “Izzy’s creativity and imagination is part of what the governor is doing.”

But Gardon’s bombastic new persona has also provided fodder for Newsom’s critics on the right (and even some Democrats), who’ve questioned his tone and the appropriateness of a government worker making such posts in an official capacity.

“Most unprofessional person to ever work in politics,” Garry Tan, CEO of Y Combinator and Democratic megadonor, posted on X. “Izzy Gardon brings shame to the Newsom campaign.”

Multiple Newsom advisers told Playbook that Gardon’s moxy is no rogue act, but reflects the governor’s exasperation with the political speech normalized by Trump, who’s often used crude language to talk about women, immigrants and other groups.

“If the way to shine a light on Donald Trump’s destructive agenda is to say ‘fuck,’ then fuck yeah,” quipped Jason Elliott, a political adviser to Newsom and his former deputy chief of staff.

Elliott emphasized that Gardon isn’t cursing or using other hyperbolic language without input. “Izzy is the one who goes to the metaphorical podium,” he said. “He is a part of a staff group that is a well-oiled machine that is in constant communication with each other and the governor.”