‘They… posted this?’: California governor’s office attempts to clap back at critics, but accidentally creates wave of new memes instead

California Governor Gavin Newsom’s press office tried to respond to critics but ended up making things worse. People had made fun of how Newsom was sitting during a recent event, calling his pose “testicle-crushing.” Instead of ignoring it, his office posted a photo on X showing him in an even more extreme twisted position.

According to Fox News, the post was shared with the caption, “Democracy requires flexibility.” But the attempt at humour backfired almost instantly. The image spread rapidly across social media, where users piled on with their own jokes and memes. Many questioned why Governor Gavin Newsom’s team thought posting the photo was a good idea in the first place, suggesting the caption only made the moment more awkward.

The online frenzy began after Newsom appeared at The New York Times DealBook Summit on Wednesday. During the event, cameras captured him sitting onstage with his legs tightly crossed in a noticeably stiff posture. Once clips and screenshots hit social platforms, commenters wasted no time poking fun at the governor’s unusual pose. Within hours, jokes, memes, and parody captions were everywhere, turning what was meant to be a lighthearted political post into a full-blown viral moment.

The response only made the mocking worse

One user commented, “I have never seen a man crush his testicles harder than this dude.” That’s when Newsom’s press office decided to fight back with their own photo. But their attempt to make a joke out of the situation completely backfired.

Instead of shutting down the critics, the exaggerated photo his office posted just gave people more material to work with. Social media users jumped on it immediately. One person wrote, “They… Posted this?” expressing disbelief that the governor’s team actually shared the image. This isn’t the first time Newsom has faced public criticism, as actress Halle Berry recently shocked a crowd with her comments about the governor.

Another user said, “You’ve no idea how much the memers are going to ridicule this. Great job!.” The comments kept coming as more people saw the post. What started as criticism of an awkward sitting position turned into a much bigger wave of memes and jokes.

The photo became viral for all the wrong reasons. Users questioned whether someone on his team had made a mistake by posting it. Meanwhile, California police recently went viral themselves for their unusual approach to catching a mail thief. The situation shows how trying to clap back at critics on social media can sometimes make things much worse instead of better.