Newsom Fires Back At Trump In Fiery Davos Speech

California Governor Gavin Newsom took center stage at the World Economic Forum in Davos on January 22, 2026, delivering a fiery critique of former President Donald Trump while also pushing back against the notion that Trump’s presidency marks a permanent rupture in the American-led global order. Newsom’s performance was met with repeated applause from an audience that included high-profile figures such as European Central Bank chief Christine Lagarde, as reported by Semafor and CNN.

During his on-stage interview with Semafor editor-in-chief Ben Smith, Newsom did not hold back. He described Trump as “an invasive species,” adding, “He’s a wrecking ball president. And he’s trying to roll back progress of the last century.” According to CNN, Newsom further asserted, “He’s doubling down on stupid.” These pointed remarks were just the latest volley in what has become a very public and personal feud between Newsom and Trump, a feud that Newsom appears to relish. “We’re deeply in their head, I think the affordability agenda appears to be, I’m living rent-free in Trump’s head,” Newsom said, underscoring his confidence in his ongoing battle with the former president.

Yet, even as he lambasted Trump, Newsom rejected the growing consensus among some Davos attendees that Trump represents a permanent breach in the global order established by the United States after World War II. “These relationships are in dormancy. They’re not dead,” Newsom told Semafor in a Thursday morning interview. “I don’t use those binary terms. Don’t fall prey to that. That’s a bit hyperbolic.” His comments came just days after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had urged U.S. allies to recognize a permanent “rupture” in global systems and to deepen engagement with China, and a day after Trump had reluctantly backed off threats to seize Greenland.

Newsom characterized Trump as an anomalous figure, asserting, “He will be remembered in years, not decades.” He went on to denounce “corruption and graft at a scale we’ve never seen in American history,” painting a picture of an administration defined by unprecedented ethical lapses. Newsom also criticized American politicians and CEOs as “frightened and subservient,” and, in a memorable moment, waved red kneepads at the audience to symbolize what he saw as their unwillingness to stand up to Trump.

When asked about his own combative use of social media—sometimes mirroring the personal and even sexual jibes that have become a hallmark of Trump’s online persona—Newsom defended his tactics. “It’s deeply unbecoming. Come on. Of course it is. It’s not what we should be doing,” he admitted. “But you’ve got to point out the absurdity. You got to put a mirror up to this.” This philosophy was echoed in his remarks to The Independent, where he said, “This is not normal, it’s a deviation of normalcy. We’ve got to call it out. So I put a mirror up to Trump and Trumpism – in all caps.”

The back-and-forth between Newsom and members of Trump’s circle was on full display at Davos. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had compared Newsom to both the fictional serial killer Patrick Bateman from “American Psycho” and a “Sparkle Beach Ken” doll. Newsom was quick to retort, “The Treasury secretary talked about a Barbie doll. It was as if he was reading a diary and had just broken up with someone. That was the secretary of the Treasury using valuable time yesterday on the world stage.”

Despite the antagonism, Newsom’s address also touched on broader themes of American leadership and the fragility of international alliances. “It’s a remarkable thing to break down 80-plus years of alliances. It takes decades and decades to build trust in organisations… It takes weeks, tweets, hours, minutes, sometimes to destroy it,” he lamented, highlighting the damage he believes has been done to America’s standing in the world.

Newsom’s willingness to meet Trump on his own rhetorical turf has energized Democrats both at home and abroad. However, as Semafor’s Ben Smith pointed out, Newsom’s approach also raises questions about the state of Democratic governance in major cities and states like Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, and Chicago. When challenged on issues such as devastating wildfires in Los Angeles, Newsom was quick to reject the notion that government mismanagement was to blame, instead pointing to environmental conditions. He also defended California’s decision to extend state health insurance to undocumented migrants and sidestepped questions about the state running a deficit amid a historic boom in artificial intelligence.

“California has figured it out in many respects,” Newsom told Semafor, touting the state’s growing roster of tech giants, a surge in venture capital investment, and the presence of OpenAI’s headquarters in San Francisco. “Our entire entrepreneurial system is thriving in our state, where I think we’ve found that balance.” According to Newsom, California’s success in fostering innovation and entrepreneurship stands in contrast to the narrative of decline often promoted by critics.

At the same time, Newsom did not shy away from criticizing proposals from within his own party. He dismissed a California union’s proposal to fund health care with a one-time wealth tax on the state’s super rich, warning that such a move would undermine California’s competitiveness. “We’re competing with 50 states,” he said. “Capital flows and moves… The impact of that has to be considered in the context of how freely capital can move and how that’s already occurred.” He added that if the proposed referendum were to make it onto the ballot, “it would lose.”

Newsom also called out his fellow Democrats for not being more forceful in their opposition to Trump. “We might write an op-ed,” he said, suggesting that more direct action is needed to counter the former president’s influence.

Throughout his appearance at Davos, Newsom struck a delicate balance—condemning what he sees as the aberrations of the Trump era while insisting that the foundations of American global leadership remain intact. His remarks resonated with many in the audience, energizing Democrats and reassuring international allies that, in his view, the United States is not lost to isolationism or division.

With Newsom widely regarded as a frontrunner for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination, his words in Davos were more than just a critique of Trump—they were a signal of the direction he intends to take his party and, perhaps, the country. As the dust settles from his high-profile appearance, the debate over America’s place in the world and the legacy of the Trump years is far from over.