Newsom’s Davos Disaster Exposes His Anti-American Grandstanding
Is this competence or optics?
“Governor Newsom, who strikes me as Patrick Bateman meets Sparkle Beach Ken, may be the only Californian who knows less about economics than Kamala Harris.”
That was Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Tuesday, delivering a remarkably on-point put-down of California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
And the put-down was warranted, given that Newsom was hopping from camera to camera at the conference, painting himself as the leader of the American resistance against the American president, and generally acting the fool.
I always thought Newsom looked like how the Devil’s lawyer would be portrayed in a movie, but a mix of the main villain from “American Psycho” and Barbie’s boyfriend certainly seems spot on.
Aside from Bessent’s barb, Newsom’s presence at Davos—where world leaders and the global elite generally gather to out-smug each other—didn’t do him any favors.
Somehow, in an environment that seems perfectly suited to his persona, Newsom flamed out. And that flameout wasn’t just because his speech, which was clearly intended to be in the style of a post-State of the Union address partisan rebuttal, got canceled.
No, I think the reason is that his newest schtick of being the American lefty memelord who is totally not running for president ran into the larger political forces at play. Newsom clearly wanted to present himself as the champion of the great global “liberal international order” empire fighting those mean nationalistic bullies like Russia and the United States.
But Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney delivered what was almost certainly the best address representing that view. And while Carney’s speech was wrong on much of its substance—President Donald Trump certainly had some harsh and apt criticism—it was at least serious and credible.
Not so with Newsom, who just seemed eager to please cameras while making strange analogies and telling crude inside jokes about how world leaders are “selling out” to Trump, which didn’t land.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday showed off knee pads that he suggested were for leaders “selling out” to the Trump administration.
— CNBC (@CNBC) January 22, 2026
What made this “selling out” joke even more ridiculous is that Newsom decided it was the right idea to take a minute to pose for a picture with leftist billionaire megadonor Alex Soros while he was there.
Great catching up with the real star of the 2026 World Economic Forum, my friend Gavin Newsom.
So glad he’s here calling out world leaders for believing appeasement works when it comes to Trump. It doesn’t. It only emboldens him to become more chaotic and destructive.
World…
— Alex Soros (@AlexanderSoros) January 20, 2026
Again, not great.
Some may say that Trump often creates a spectacle, that he’s not above trolling, and that Newsom is just acting in response. But Trump is the president and he’s actually getting things done on the world stage. Even the Greenland brouhaha that caused so much angst throughout Europe seems to have ended up as a deal that’s good for the U.S. and our allies.
In other words, there …
Is this competence or optics?
“Governor Newsom, who strikes me as Patrick Bateman meets Sparkle Beach Ken, may be the only Californian who knows less about economics than Kamala Harris.”
That was Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Tuesday, delivering a remarkably on-point put-down of California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
And the put-down was warranted, given that Newsom was hopping from camera to camera at the conference, painting himself as the leader of the American resistance against the American president, and generally acting the fool.
I always thought Newsom looked like how the Devil’s lawyer would be portrayed in a movie, but a mix of the main villain from “American Psycho” and Barbie’s boyfriend certainly seems spot on.
Aside from Bessent’s barb, Newsom’s presence at Davos—where world leaders and the global elite generally gather to out-smug each other—didn’t do him any favors.
Somehow, in an environment that seems perfectly suited to his persona, Newsom flamed out. And that flameout wasn’t just because his speech, which was clearly intended to be in the style of a post-State of the Union address partisan rebuttal, got canceled.
No, I think the reason is that his newest schtick of being the American lefty memelord who is totally not running for president ran into the larger political forces at play. Newsom clearly wanted to present himself as the champion of the great global “liberal international order” empire fighting those mean nationalistic bullies like Russia and the United States.
But Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney delivered what was almost certainly the best address representing that view. And while Carney’s speech was wrong on much of its substance—President Donald Trump certainly had some harsh and apt criticism—it was at least serious and credible.
Not so with Newsom, who just seemed eager to please cameras while making strange analogies and telling crude inside jokes about how world leaders are “selling out” to Trump, which didn’t land.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday showed off knee pads that he suggested were for leaders “selling out” to the Trump administration.
— CNBC (@CNBC) January 22, 2026
What made this “selling out” joke even more ridiculous is that Newsom decided it was the right idea to take a minute to pose for a picture with leftist billionaire megadonor Alex Soros while he was there.
Great catching up with the real star of the 2026 World Economic Forum, my friend Gavin Newsom.
So glad he’s here calling out world leaders for believing appeasement works when it comes to Trump. It doesn’t. It only emboldens him to become more chaotic and destructive.
World…
— Alex Soros (@AlexanderSoros) January 20, 2026
Again, not great.
Some may say that Trump often creates a spectacle, that he’s not above trolling, and that Newsom is just acting in response. But Trump is the president and he’s actually getting things done on the world stage. Even the Greenland brouhaha that caused so much angst throughout Europe seems to have ended up as a deal that’s good for the U.S. and our allies.
In other words, there …
Newsom’s Davos Disaster Exposes His Anti-American Grandstanding
Is this competence or optics?
“Governor Newsom, who strikes me as Patrick Bateman meets Sparkle Beach Ken, may be the only Californian who knows less about economics than Kamala Harris.”
That was Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Tuesday, delivering a remarkably on-point put-down of California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
And the put-down was warranted, given that Newsom was hopping from camera to camera at the conference, painting himself as the leader of the American resistance against the American president, and generally acting the fool.
I always thought Newsom looked like how the Devil’s lawyer would be portrayed in a movie, but a mix of the main villain from “American Psycho” and Barbie’s boyfriend certainly seems spot on.
Aside from Bessent’s barb, Newsom’s presence at Davos—where world leaders and the global elite generally gather to out-smug each other—didn’t do him any favors.
Somehow, in an environment that seems perfectly suited to his persona, Newsom flamed out. And that flameout wasn’t just because his speech, which was clearly intended to be in the style of a post-State of the Union address partisan rebuttal, got canceled.
No, I think the reason is that his newest schtick of being the American lefty memelord who is totally not running for president ran into the larger political forces at play. Newsom clearly wanted to present himself as the champion of the great global “liberal international order” empire fighting those mean nationalistic bullies like Russia and the United States.
But Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney delivered what was almost certainly the best address representing that view. And while Carney’s speech was wrong on much of its substance—President Donald Trump certainly had some harsh and apt criticism—it was at least serious and credible.
Not so with Newsom, who just seemed eager to please cameras while making strange analogies and telling crude inside jokes about how world leaders are “selling out” to Trump, which didn’t land.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday showed off knee pads that he suggested were for leaders “selling out” to the Trump administration.
— CNBC (@CNBC) January 22, 2026
What made this “selling out” joke even more ridiculous is that Newsom decided it was the right idea to take a minute to pose for a picture with leftist billionaire megadonor Alex Soros while he was there.
Great catching up with the real star of the 2026 World Economic Forum, my friend Gavin Newsom.
So glad he’s here calling out world leaders for believing appeasement works when it comes to Trump. It doesn’t. It only emboldens him to become more chaotic and destructive.
World…
— Alex Soros (@AlexanderSoros) January 20, 2026
Again, not great.
Some may say that Trump often creates a spectacle, that he’s not above trolling, and that Newsom is just acting in response. But Trump is the president and he’s actually getting things done on the world stage. Even the Greenland brouhaha that caused so much angst throughout Europe seems to have ended up as a deal that’s good for the U.S. and our allies.
In other words, there …
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