Gavin Newsom took his Trump attacks international this week.
The California governor didn't care who saw him trash the President on foreign soil.
And Ron DeSantis slammed Gavin Newsom for this Davos stunt that shocked Americans.
Newsom urges foreign leaders to rally against Trump
Gavin Newsom jetted off to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland last week to make a spectacle of himself attacking President Trump in front of the world.
The California governor told European leaders they should "stop being complicit" and called them "pathetic" for "rolling over" to Trump.
Newsom actually pulled out physical kneepads as a prop during one panel discussion, saying he should have brought them for world leaders.
"This is diplomacy with Donald Trump. He's a T. rex. You mate with him, or he devours you, one or the other," Newsom told reporters. "The Europeans could be devoured if they continue down this path and process. They need to stand tall, stand firm, stand united."
https://twitter.com/EricLDaugh/status/2014017705980871132?s=20
Newsom was spotted smirking in the audience when Trump delivered his speech to world leaders.
He later dismissed Trump's remarks as "remarkably boring" and "remarkably insignificant" in a CNN interview.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent fired back at Newsom during his own Davos speech, calling the California governor someone "who strikes me as Patrick Bateman meets Sparkle Beach Ken."
The White House canceled Newsom's scheduled speaking slot at USA House, the official American venue at Davos.
Newsom claimed Trump's team blocked him out of fear, posting on social media: "How weak and pathetic do you have to be to be this scared of a fireside chat?"
DeSantis rips Newsom for attacking Trump overseas
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis appeared on Sean Hannity's show Friday night and unloaded on his longtime rival.
"He's out there frolicking around in Davos basically attacking the president of the United States, urging foreign leaders to rally against him while he's on foreign soil," DeSantis said.
DeSantis connected Newsom's behavior to the disaster California has become under his leadership.
Hannity showed a photo of Newsom standing with Alex Soros at the World Economic Forum.
"Showing that picture of him with Alex Soros, I thought was very fitting because this governor has Soros-ed California," DeSantis stated. "It used to be the place everyone wanted to go. And now, they're losing population and continue to do so because they have enacted those left-wing policies that have failed."
The Florida governor pointed out that Californians are fleeing to his state in droves — and they're not the Berkeley liberals Republicans feared.
"At the time, Florida was a swing state, Sean. So, a lot of Republicans were freaked out by seeing California license plates because they're thinking to themselves, is this Berkeley in Florida where they're going to turn us blue?" DeSantis explained.
"And it was actually the opposite. The people that were leaving across — you know, traveling across the entire continent picking up their lives were doing it because they had had enough of the failed policies," DeSantis added.
https://twitter.com/GovRonDeSantis/status/2014887558719692990?s=20
Newsom's behavior raises serious questions
What DeSantis didn't mention is that Newsom's conduct at Davos could violate federal law.
The Logan Act prohibits private citizens from engaging in unauthorized correspondence with foreign governments intended to "defeat the measures of the United States."
George Logan, the law's namesake, traveled to France in 1798 as a private citizen to conduct unauthorized diplomacy.
President John Adams and Federalists in Congress viewed Logan's actions as undermining official U.S. policy toward France.
No one has been prosecuted under the Logan Act since 1852, but Trump administration officials have made clear they won't tolerate this kind of interference.
Newsom urging European leaders to "stand united" against Trump's foreign policy while the President was at the same event conducting official U.S. diplomacy crosses a serious line.
This isn't the first time Newsom has inserted himself into foreign affairs — he's traveled to China and Israel to meet with foreign leaders despite having no authority to represent the United States.
Newsom claims he's living "rent-free" in Trump's head, but the reality is Trump crushed Kamala Harris in November while Newsom's own state becomes more dysfunctional by the day.
DeSantis and Newsom famously debated on Fox News in November 2023, where the two governors spent 90 minutes trading insults and talking over each other.
Newsom promised he wasn't running for President in 2024 but everyone knew he was positioning himself for 2028.
Now Newsom's using the Davos stage to build his international profile and attack Trump — all while California burns, crime surges, and residents flee in record numbers.
The people of California didn't elect Newsom to conduct shadow diplomacy in Switzerland attacking their President.
They elected him to fix the mess in their own state — something he's completely failed to do.
Sources:
- Jeff Poor, "DeSantis: Gavin Newsom Was Attempting to 'Rally' Foreign Leaders Against Trump While He Was on Foreign Soil," Breitbart, January 24, 2026.
- A.G. Gancarski, "Ron DeSantis rips Gavin Newsom for 'frolicking' at Davos, dissing Donald Trump on foreign soil," Florida Politics, January 24, 2026.
- Fox News, "Newsom targets Trump at Davos World Economic Forum with viral political stunts," January 24, 2026.
- ABC News, "California Governor Gavin Newsom's talk canceled at World Economic Forum in Davos after he slams President Trump's speech," January 22, 2026.
- NBC Los Angeles, "Newsom slams European leaders for 'rolling over' to Trump," January 20, 2026.
- Euronews, "Davos 2026: Who said what at world's top political and business summit," January 23, 2026.
