President Donald Trump offered unexpected praise to California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) while addressing the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Wednesday.
During his speech, Trump departed from discussing the U.S. economy and his desire to acquire Greenland at one point, instead turning his attention to California.
“We’re going to help the people in California,” Trump said. “We want to have no crime.”
“I know Gavin was here. I used to get along so great with Gavin when I was president. Gavin’s a good guy,” he continued, adding that he would help Newsom, one of his most vocal critics, “in a heartbeat.”
Trump went on to say that he would call on himself for assistance if he were a Democratic governor: “I’d say, ‘Come on in. Make us look good.’ Because we’re cutting crime down to nothing.”
Following Trump’s speech, Newsom called it “remarkably boring” and “remarkably insignificant” during an interview with CNN, pointing to the president’s campaign to acquire Greenland.“He was never going invade Greenland,” Newsom said. “It was never real.”In his remarks, Trump called for “immediate negotiations” for the United States to own the semi-autonomous Danish territory, while he noted that he will not use force to seize it. He maintained, though, that the United States will “remember” if Europe does not accept his push.“We want a piece of ice for world protection, and they won’t give it,” Trump said. “We’ve never asked for anything else, and we could have kept that piece of land, and we didn’t.”
Trump’s sudden switch up from attacking the governor — who he has nicknamed “Newscum” — came as allies and supporters of the president have harshly criticized Newsom online for attending the forum.
“Nothing quite says America First like commiserating to the crowd of the World’s Elites,” Katie Miller, the wife of White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, wrote in a post on X. “You either stand up for America or you should sit down.”
Far-right influencer Jack Posobiec said that Newsom, who was sitting in the audience, “looks uncomfortable” as he watched Trump speak.Fox News host Sean Hannity dubbed the governor a “full time Trump stalker.” “Just a thought, why not go home and fix the mess you created?” Hannity added.While in attendance at the forum on Tuesday, Newsom issued a strong warning to world leaders when asked about U.S. control over the Arctic island and Trump’s repeated attacks against NATO.“People are rolling over,” Newsom told reporters. “I should have brought a bunch of kneepads for all the world leaders. It’s just pathetic.”He also described the president as a “T-Rex,” saying that they either “mate with him or he devours you.”Trump took sharper aim at Newsom and California during his special appearance at the White House briefing on Tuesday.“A disaster state with a governor that truly is doing a bad job,” Trump said. “He’s killing that state. If he ever ran the country, this country would be Venezuela.”
