Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) took a swipe at Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) on Monday afternoon — and got a sharp clapback.
Blackburn, currently running for governor, was responding to a planned trip by Newsom to her state.
"It looks like Gavin Newsom will be in Nashville this coming weekend. As Governor of California, he has driven his state into becoming the most unaffordable in America," wrote Blackburn on X. "Tennesseans have worked too hard to build what we have, and we’re not interested in @GavinNewsom's failed, radical left policies that have wrecked California."
Newsom didn't let that comment go unanswered.
"Spare me, Marsha," wrote Newsom. "Tennessee’s violent crime rate is one of the highest in the nation. Californians make more $, live longer, and are overall happier — while you promote policies that have resulted in lawlessness and higher depression rates."
"Time to turn Tennessee blue," he added.
This comes as Newsom, who is often speculated as a possible contender for the 2028 presidential election, goes on offense against Trump and the GOP on social media, and tours the world to offer a competing vision for American leadership to the sitting president.
"Donald Trump is temporary. He'll be gone in three years," Newsom said at a summit over climate policy in the U.K., adding that California will be "stable and reliable."