Trump Launches Accusations Against Schiff
Senator Adam Schiff has a message for Donald Trump: If you’re going to insult him, at least pick a nickname and stick with it.
In an interview with Axios, Schiff reflected on his long-running feud with the former—and now current—President, offering a dry observation rooted in experience: “The cardinal rule of nicknames is: Just stick with one.” Trump, who has lobbed several over the years—including “Shifty Schiff” and the more bizarre “Watermelon Head”—has helped make Schiff a household name, especially after Schiff led the House’s first impeachment effort against him.
That chapter reshaped Schiff’s public identity. What began as a reputation for sober national security work—he once endorsed Jim Mattis for Secretary of Defense when many Democrats balked—morphed into a highly partisan posture as Trump’s most persistent legislative adversary. Schiff acknowledges the shift. “I have my brand pre-Trump and my brand post-Trump,” he said.
After securing a U.S. Senate seat through a contentious primary in California, Schiff is now preparing for a new phase of that rivalry. “What he’s trying to do in the second term is even worse than what he tried to do in the first term,” Schiff warned. The stakes, in his view, are higher. And so is the animosity.
Schiff has found moments of irony in the public scrutiny. During a recent visit to northeastern California, he said a farmer approached him and, in an unexpected show of disarming candor, said, “I don’t know why he calls you watermelon head. You have a perfectly normal-sized head.”
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) July 15, 2025
But the humor hasn’t softened the urgency of Schiff’s mission. Following Trump’s deployment of National Guard troops to quell ICE protest disruptions in Los Angeles—a move that came just two days after the interview—Schiff accused the administration of intentionally provoking unrest. “This action is designed to inflame tensions, sow chaos, and escalate the situation,” he wrote on X. While calling for calm, Schiff also made clear: “Assaulting law enforcement is never ok.”
Schiff has continued to pursue legislative avenues to challenge what he views as federal overreach. He recently pushed back against efforts to remove civil rights leader Harvey Milk’s name from a U.S. Navy ship, and pressed for White House financial disclosures. He’s also worked to block the repeal of electric vehicle incentives and voiced opposition to the potential shuttering of USDA field offices.
As he balances national oversight with serving his California constituents, Schiff admits the dynamic has changed—both personally and politically. “Most of my days are spent trying to walk this line between stopping the administration from violating the law and ignoring the Constitution on the one hand,” he said, “and continuing to deliver for Californians…”
That balancing act is likely to remain a central theme, especially as California continues to position itself as a legal and ideological counterweight to Trump’s federal agenda. The Golden State has already pledged to challenge the latest National Guard deployment in court, and past threats to state disaster relief, transportation infrastructure, and immigration protections have only reinforced the partisan divide.