Published May 2, 2026, 9:06 a.m. ET Bill Maher thinks Gavin Newsom might be playing a little too close to Donald Trump ’s playbook. Appearing on Friday’s Real Time with Bill Maher , the California governor pushed back on the idea that his recent messaging—heavy on trolling, meme-ready digs, and all-caps posts—is imitation for imitation’s sake. “I’m trying to put a mirror up to Donald Trump,” Newsom said. “We’re just trying to reflect that reality and express the absurdity of all of this.” That “mirror” approach has increasingly defined Newsom’s tone since Trump returned to the White House, with the governor leaning into the same kind of rapid-fire, attention-grabbing style—just aimed in the opposite direction. Early polling suggests it may be working, with Newsom emerging as a frontrunner in hypothetical 2028 Democratic matchups. Maher, though, wasn’t convinced the distinction matters.…