California Governor Gavin Newsom’s trolling landed right in the middle of President Donald Trump’s victory lap, a ceasefire deal in Gaza that the White House framed as proof of “peace through strength.” After a black and white photo of Trump clasping hands with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu went up on X, Newsom’s team posted a wordless image from Dumb and Dumber, a sly jab that doubled as a critique of the optics and timing.
Strip away the meme war and the core story is Trump’s deal. The agreement pairs a sustained cessation of hostilities with a phased package, hostage releases in exchange for prisoner releases, a pause in major military operations, expanded humanitarian corridors, and stepped up international monitoring. The White House is selling it as a hard edged bargain, pressure for concessions balanced with security guarantees, all designed to stop the bleeding while broader political talks spool up.
Praise has come quickly from allies who argue the deal finally breaks a cycle of short pauses and quick relapses. Supporters say the hostages and detainees returning home are a tangible, human-scale benchmark, and they credit a heavier American diplomatic footprint for forcing deadlines and sequencing that previous rounds lacked. The photo op with Netanyahu, in this reading, is not just ceremony; it is the public anchor for a private matrix of commitments meant to hold the line when the headlines move on.
https://t.co/4kPg0AiwHW pic.twitter.com/CORXTcYV0O
— Governor Newsom Press Office (@GovPressOffice) October 14, 2025
Criticism has been just as loud. Human rights groups warn that a pause is not peace and that without a credible plan for Gaza’s governance, reconstruction, and accountability, the lull will be temporary and the civilian suffering will resume. Regional skeptics say the package sidelines key stakeholders and leans too heavily on security first logic, leaving political resolution for later, which is how earlier truces unraveled. Domestic critics frame the rollout as a triumphalist narrative layered over an incomplete deal, more show than substance, and they call out the administration for celebrating before the most difficult verification steps even begin.
On the ground in Gaza, the immediate impact is both real and fragile. Aid trucks are moving in greater numbers, hospitals and shelters are reporting brief windows to restock, and families are reuniting after exchanges. At the same time, relief groups describe a razor thin margin, bottlenecks at crossings, destroyed infrastructure that slows distribution, and communities still reeling from months of bombardment and displacement. The test is whether the humanitarian gains can be scaled and sustained beyond the first news cycle.
Politically, the ceasefire lands in a polarized moment. For Trump, it is a claim to statesman status, proof that personal pressure and deal-making can wring outcomes from entrenched adversaries. For opponents, it is a reminder that the same instincts that produce a hard bargain can also produce a shaky framework if the follow through falters. Newsom’s Dumb and Dumber post hit because it compressed that argument into a single image, undercutting the hero shot with a pop culture sneer that travels fast online.
What happens next matters more than the meme. If the corridors stay open, if exchanges proceed without collapse, if the quiet holds long enough for political talks to deepen, the administration’s bet looks shrewd. If aid stops and violations spike, the deal will be remembered as another pause with a glossy photo on top. The White House is betting on the former. Newsom is betting that the internet will remember the latter.
