Democratic California Governor Gavin Newsom’s office tried to score political points this past week by posting a wrestling GIF of Education Secretary Linda McMahon being body-slammed by a man.
It didn’t go as planned.
McMahon warned radical governors such as Newsom that their failure to adhere to Title IX rules to protect female athletes would result in them losing federal funding.
The secretary touched on the topic during an interview with Fox News, which she shared a clip of on X.
Today, @usedgov let @GavinNewsom know his state’s policies are in violation of Title IX several times over. Letting men beat women in their sport of choice is illegal and wrong.
You can either stand up for women or answer to the law. pic.twitter.com/96eMOT6huo
— Secretary Linda McMahon (@EDSecMcMahon) June 25, 2025
She tagged Newsom and commented, “Letting men beat women in their sport of choice is illegal and wrong. You can either stand up for women or answer to the law.”
Newsom’s office responded by sharing a 2003 clip of McMahon’s former WWE persona being physically dominated by a male wrestler — Republican Knox County, Tennessee, Mayor Glenn Jacobs, better known as “Kane.”
The governor’s team captioned the GIF: “Live look at Linda’s legal claims.”
Live look at Linda’s legal claims https://t.co/0dwc3kvaIe pic.twitter.com/eQkBVowNrN
— Governor Newsom Press Office (@GovPressOffice) June 25, 2025
The image shows the much larger Jacobs lifting McMahon over his head before slamming her to the ground.
In a post meant to mock McMahon, Newsom’s office instead highlighted the very concern she was raising: women are being overpowered — literally and politically — by men in competitive spaces.
Newsom’s office later commented, “Secretary McMahon is confusing government with her WrestleMania days — dramatic, fake, and completely divorced from reality. This won’t stick.”
Secretary McMahon is confusing government with her WrestleMania days — dramatic, fake, and completely divorced from reality. This won’t stick. https://t.co/H5UqMPuArE
— Governor Newsom Press Office (@GovPressOffice) June 25, 2025
McMahon fired back Wednesday in comments to Fox News.
“I think what that said is that Gavin Newsom doesn’t really take this seriously at all. And I was surprised that that was the clip that he used… He was trying to be funny on a very serious matter. We have women who are training to compete in these sports who lose scholarship and sponsorship opportunities, who get injured, who are compelled to be in dressing rooms or their intimate spaces with men, and that is absolutely unfair.”
McMahon also pointed out that Newsom admitted to Charlie Kirk earlier this year that it is unfair to allow women and girls to be subjected to facing stronger, more physically imposing males in competition.
In attempting to humiliate a sitting cabinet official, Newsom’s team used an image of a woman being violently slammed to the ground by a man, and thought it was clever.
But the message it actually sent was one of open contempt for women who speak up. And in this case, a woman who is actively working to protect fairness and safety in sports.
McMahon, a former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment, has long been a public advocate for protecting women’s spaces in sports and education.
As Education Secretary, she has led President Donald Trump’s effort to push back against Biden-era attempts to redefine gender in ways that flout reality.
McMahon’s message has been clear: she stands with women and girls.
Newsom’s response was just as clear: mock, belittle, and erase them.
The post from his office might have been intended as a joke. But as usual, the joke was on the left.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
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