California Gov. Gavin Newsom called out a MAGA influencer for seemingly agreeing with President Donald Trump’s push to stop talking about the files on sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in a slideshow of images on TikTok.
In a viral TikTok that has since amassed more than 1 million views, Newsom posted a screenshot of him quote tweeting Turning Point USA founder and CEO Charlie Kirk on X. The governor simply wrote “Retweet” in response to a tweet by Kirk from 2019 calling for Trump to launch an investigation into Epstein’s alleged crimes.
“[Retweet] if you believe @realdonaltrump should order a FULL INVESTIGATION into Epstein’s illegal sexual trafficking from the last 30 years and get answers!” Kirk wrote at the time.
Newsom included the retweet of Kirk’s post along with a photo of Trump and Epstein together placed in a popular meme template of Nickelback lead singer Chad Kroeger holding a picture frame as the band’s song “Photograph” plays in the background.
The post led to laughter online, as users applauded the governor for using the pro-Trump influencer’s words against him.
“Gavin keeping his foot on their neck,” one user joked. Another wrote, “The level of pettiness is what we all aspire to have.”
“Charlie Kirk is already falling in line though, say he is going to ‘trust the government,'” one user jabbed at the influencer. One simply added, “Genius,” while another wrote, “Gavin, you are a legend.”
During a Monday episode of Kirk’s podcast, “The Charlie Kirk Show,” the influencer declared that after all of his coverage of the drama surrounding the Department of Justice and FBI’s memo declaring that Epstein killed himself and had “no client list,” he was “done talking about Epstein.”
Charlie Kirk: “Honestly, I’m done talking about Epstein for the time being. I’m gonna trust my friends in the administration. I’m gonna trust my friends in the government.” 😂 pic.twitter.com/OaHHpvc3RT
— Michael Tracey (@mtracey) July 14, 2025
“Plenty was said this last weekend at our event about Epstein,” Kirk said. “Honestly, I’m done talking about Epstein for the time being. I’m gonna trust my friends in the administration, I’m gonna trust my friends in the government to do what needs to be done [and] solve it. Ball’s in their hands.”
Following backlash and news coverage of his quote, Kirk returned the following day to walk back those words. He clarified that he never meant that he wanted to “move on” from Epstein, only that he wanted to “focus on other stories” during Monday’s episode.
RT if you think Gavin Newsom should do the following:
— Apologize for failing to cooperate with ICE and deport illegals in California
— Apologize for bankrupting his state by providing free healthcare to illegals
— Apologize for allowing men in girls’ locker rooms and sports
—… https://t.co/5QOefIj7QN— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) July 16, 2025
Kirk also responded to Newsom’s call out by blasting the governor on a list of hot topics he thinks Newsom should “apologize” for, including “failing to cooperate with ICE” and “bankrupting his state by providing free healthcare to illegals.”
Originally published on Latin Times
