SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Gov. Gavin Newsom unveiled a new state-run website Tuesday that tracks what his office calls the "criminal cronies" around President Trump — just the latest trolling tactic by the California governor that directly mirrors Trump's own use of public resources for political score settling.

Newsom pegged the website's rollout to recent crime statistics, which were released in early November showing falling rates of homicide and assault in California. The governor's website catalogs what it calls the top 10 criminal convictions that were followed by pardons offered thus far by Trump — from Jan. 6 rioters to former politicians and business figures convicted of fraud, drug trafficking and financial crimes. The website calls Trump the "criminal in chief."

The website features AI-generated portraits of such figues as Rod Blagojevich, the only Illinois governor to be impeached and removed from office; former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, who was convicted of drug trafficking; and Ross Ulbricht, the founder of a dark-web drug marketplace who had been serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole. The images show the men standing in a lineup with the word "felon" stamped in red ink.

"With crime dropping — again — California is proving what real public safety leadership looks like," read a statement from Newsom. "Meanwhile in D.C., Trump is a felon who surrounds himself with scammers and drug traffickers. We're providing the public with a resource putting the facts in one place so Californians, and all Americans, can see who he elevates and who he protects."

The launch is the latest escalation in Newsom's increasingly aggressive digital campaign against Trump. In recent months, the governor and his press office have turned social media into a near-daily forum for mocking and trolling the president by firing off all-caps posts, meme-style graphics and sharply worded rebukes aimed at Trump's brash rhetoric, criminal record, policy proposals and political allies.

Republican strategist Rob Stutzman, who is openly critical of Trump, said Newsom's latest tactic may be moving past parody and instead "perpetuating the Trump denigration" of societal norms and public confidence in institutions.

"Newsom's online campaign mocking Trump has clearly been part of his rise in popularity with base Democrat voters," Stuzman said. "But by doing so from a taxpayer-financed website with state employees, he is agreeing to disregard previous norms for public institutions that Trump has dismantled. Be careful to not become that which you despise."

Others, including Mike Madrid, a GOP strategist and co-founder of the anti-Trump political action committee known as the Lincoln Project, said Newsom's mirroring can't go too far when it's simply showing what the president is doing himself. Madrid called Newsom's approach "fantastic."

"He's turning the tables completely on Trump. Completely," Madrid said. "The more Trump attacks him, the more Trump's enablers attack him, the stronger he's gonna get ... Do I like the fact that taxpayer dollars are being used this way? No, but that train left the station on January 2017 when Trump took office the first time."

The crime data, which were released Nov. 3 by the Major Cities Chiefs Assn., found homicides across California's major cities fell 18% year over year, robberies dropped 18% and aggravated assaults declined 9%. The association also found that violent crime decreased in every California city reporting data, with the steepest declines in Oakland, where violent crime fell 25%, and San Francisco, where it fell 21%.

Newsom's new website highlights Trump's sweeping use of presidential pardons to grant clemency to roughly 1,500 people charged or convicted for their roles in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. The governor's office said some of those individuals had prior criminal records and that others went on to be convicted of new crimes after receiving pardons.

The move mirrors tactics Trump and his administration have embraced. Most recently, Trump unveiled a website of "media offenders," naming journalists and outlets he accuses of bias. Newsom's office pushed back on the comparison, saying the journalists targeted by Trump were accused of bias rather than criminal conduct, unlike those listed on the California site.

Separately, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security under Secretary Kristi Noem has maintained a website highlighting what it calls the "worst of the worst" criminal immigrants arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, framing the page as evidence that the administration is carrying out Trump's promise of mass deportations.

The state's website launch comes as Newsom seeks to cast California as a national leader in responsible governance of artificial intelligence.

Earlier Tuesday, the governor announced a slate of initiatives aimed at promoting ethical AI use in state government, including a new advisory council, partnerships with academic and nonprofit groups, and a generative AI assistant for state employees. Among the priorities outlined are strengthening safeguards for children online, countering image-based abuse and improving government operations.

"California is at the forefront of AI technology — and is home to some of the most successful and innovative companies and academic leaders in the world," Newsom said in a statement. "We're not going to sit on the sidelines and let others define the future for us. But we're going to do it responsibly — making sure we capture the benefits, mitigate the harms, and continue to lead with the values that define this state."

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