Newsom compares himself to 'American Psycho' killer in out-of-touch social media post

California Governor Gavin Newsom drew mockery on Monday after comparing himself to Christian Bale’s character in the film American Psycho, as social media users quickly noted that he is comparing himself to a murderer and rapist.

In a post on X, Newsom shared an image showing half his face and half of Patrick Bateman, side by side. The caption read “For so many years people have been saying that Patrick Bateman and I look alike. Now this pic has been going all over the place. What do you think?”

The post appeared to be the latest in the governor’s broader effort to engage with online culture and younger social media users. American Psycho, particularly among Generation Z, has been frequently used in memes and edits across various platforms.

However, the comparison was met with obvious backlash, as critics pointed out how the main character of the satirical film is supposed to represent greed, materialism, and psychopathy. In the film, Bateman leads a double life where, on one hand, he is a charismatic Wall Street banker and on the other, he is a serial killer, rapist, and sadist.

Nick Shirley, an independent journalist whom Newsom recently implied in a post was a pedophile over his efforts to expose fraud at child daycare centers, ratioed the governor in the comments by posting a biography of the character that highlighted his violent traits. “Not sure if your comms guy read who Patrick Bateman is… but I don’t think comparing yourself to Patrick Bateman is the flex you think it is,” Shirley wrote.

Other users made jokes referencing a scene in which Bateman kills a homeless man, suggesting Newsom may be responsible for “more homeless person deaths than Patrick Bateman.”

Newsom appeared to double down amid the backlash, writing in a follow-up post, “they still don’t get it.” Newsom was referencing the fact that his initial post was seemingly a reference to a February 2024 post by Donald Trump, who shared an image comparing himself to Elvis Presley with similar wording. The post resurfaced recently after Trump visited the Graceland estate in Tennessee.

Still, Newsom’s attempt to tap into a popular online meme trend appeared to miss the mark with many users, particularly because he is both a sitting politician and a member of the political left. Online uses of Bateman are often ironic, as many young men on social media jokingly identify with fictional characters that were created to mock them. A similar dynamic emerged following the release of Barbie, when online male users began identifying with Ken despite the character being written as a satirical portrayal of masculinity.