Newsom's 'American Psycho' comparison to himself backfires in attempt to lampoon Trump

25 Mar 2026 By foxnews

California Gov. Gavin Newsom opened a can of worms on Tuesday by appearing to parody President Donald Trump by comparing himself to "American Psycho" character Patrick Bateman.

The Trump War Room went viral on Monday afternoon for sharing a past side-by-side photo of Trump and rock star Elvis Presley's faces, one where Trump had written, "For so many years people have been saying that Elvis and I look alike. Now, this pic has been going all over the place. What do you think?"

Newsom, who has recently engaged in a troll campaign parodying Trump's punchy communication style, responded with a post of a side-by-side comparison of his own face with "American Psycho" character Patrick Bateman, portrayed by actor Christian Bale in the 2000 movie based on the book. Newsom wrote, in a near word-for-word parody of Trump, "For so many years people have been saying that Patrick Bateman and I look alike. Now this pic has been going all over the place. What do you think?"

Many online accounts pounced on the comparison, however, given the unbalanced nature of Bateman's serial killer, Wall Street character who's meant to satirize 1980s yuppie culture and consumerism.

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"I think yes, you are a psychopath," writer Bridget Phetasy retorted.

Independent journalist Nick Shirley, who has locked horns with Newsom online before as he investigates alleged fraud in California, responded, "Not sure if your comms guy read who Patrick Bateman is… but I don't think comparing yourself to Patrick Bateman is the flex you think it is."

The Trump War Room account responded with what appears to be a heavily photoshopped side-by-side comparison featuring Ellen DeGeneres and a photo illustration that appears to have fused Newsom with DeGeneres.

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Actor Kevin Sorbo argued that Newsom more resembles another character from the same film, quipping, "You remind me more of Paul Allen. Rich, entitled, and always pushing down the little guy."

The official X account of the Republican Party responded by sharing a photo comparison of Newsom with the eponymous "Butthead" from "Beavis and Butthead."

While it is true that Newsom has been compared to Bateman in the past, such as by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent comparing him to a mix of Bateman and "Sparkle Beach Ken," Newsom's office appeared to jokingly confirm that he was parodying Trump's Elvis post.

When Fox News Digital contacted Newsom's office to see if they would like to respond to many of the above critiques, one member of his press team quipped, "Many people say he also looks like Elvis!"

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