California Governor Gavin Newsom took another jab at President Donald Trump on Friday, sharing an AI-generated image that depicts Trump as France’s Marie Antoinette while criticizing his handling of the ongoing government shutdown and food assistance program crisis.
The image — showing Trump in powdered wig and royal attire — was posted by Newsom’s press office on X with the caption, “GOOD NIGHT, PEASANTS!” It accompanied a statement accusing the Trump administration of “fighting tooth and nail to starve children” by blocking federal food aid under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
Newsom also personally weighed in, accusing Trump of prioritizing political games over hunger relief. “He DOES NOT CARE ABOUT YOU,” the governor wrote in a separate post.
The exchange came as the Supreme Court temporarily halted a lower court ruling that had ordered the Trump administration to immediately provide full SNAP benefits for November. The administration argued that the program lacked sufficient funding due to the ongoing government shutdown — now one of the longest in U.S. history.
According to filings from the Justice Department, the administration has already used its $5 billion contingency reserve and warned that fully funding November food assistance would require shifting billions from child nutrition programs.
The dispute has drawn increasing criticism from Democratic leaders and anti-hunger advocates, who argue the shutdown has already disrupted essential services for low-income families.
Meanwhile, Trump traveled to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, for the weekend — his 13th visit since beginning his second term — amid travel delays caused by the shutdown’s impact on the Federal Aviation Administration.
This isn’t the first time Newsom has used the Marie Antoinette image to lampoon Trump. In October, his office posted a similar meme mocking reports that construction on a new White House ballroom continued despite large portions of the federal government being closed.
The reference to Antoinette — the 18th-century French queen often (though likely incorrectly) credited with saying “Let them eat cake” during a famine — has long served as a symbol of elite indifference to public suffering.
As the shutdown drags on, that comparison is once again making headlines.
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