President Donald Trump and California Gov. Gavin Newsom, two men who have traded sharp political insults in recent days, reportedly shared a surprisingly cordial exchange behind the scenes at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
According to Western Journal, political commentator Mark Halperin disclosed on social media that, According to sources in both camps, the two men engaged in affable small talk backstage in a wide hallway area before the presidents speech. He further recounted that, There was friendly banter all around, and mutual laughter when the president announced, Gavin, were good, suggesting that, at least momentarily, the partisan rancor gave way to personal civility.
Halperin added that, Newsom, no stranger to faux towel snapping, gave Trump a little s*** in a jovial and jokey manner. He also observed that White House chief of staff Susie Wiles and press secretary Karoline Leavitt joined in the light-hearted interaction with Newsom, while deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller was reportedly less enthusiastic about participating in the bipartisan moment.
The backstage thaw contrasted sharply with Newsoms public posture in Davos, where the governor, widely viewed as a likely Democratic presidential contender in 2028, used his platform to attack Trump. Speaking to reporters about the controversy over Greenland and broader dealings with the former president, Newsom declared, Its time to have principles. Its time to stand strong.
Newsom escalated his rhetoric, saying, I cant take this complicity. People rolling over. I should have brought a bunch of knee pads for all the world leaders I hope people understand how pathetic they look on the world stage, at least from an American perspective. Its embarrassing Diplomacy with Donald Trump? Hes a T. rex. You mate with him, or he devours you . In a theatrical flourish during his World Economic Forum appearance, he actually produced a pair of kneepads to dramatize his accusation that global leaders were capitulating to Trump.
Trump, for his part, responded in characteristically blunt fashion on Truth Social, ridiculing the governors performance abroad and Californias record under his leadership. Gavin Newscum, as a Lame Duck Governor of a Failing State, should not be at Davos running around screaming for the attention of Foreign Leaders, and embarrassing our Country, the former president wrote on Thursday.
He made a mockery of himself, and everybody, including his staff, knows it! He should get the permits so that people can build their homes destroyed by the fire that he could have prevented if he would have allowed water to flow from the Pacific Northwest, Trump continued, tying Newsoms global grandstanding to what conservatives see as his chronic mismanagement at home.
The former president went on to highlight Californias notorious high-speed rail debacle and the states crime-ridden cities as emblematic of Newsoms failures. He should finish his monstrously overbudget and behind schedule Railroad, from San Francisco to L.A., one of the Greatest Public Disasters in History, and focus on stopping Crime in the streets of California Cities Then finish out his term, and GO HOME! Trump wrote.
With a record like hes got, the ruination of one of the most beautiful places on Earth, where people are leaving in droves, it is unimaginable that he could run for President but, who knows, its a very strange World! he concluded, underscoring a central conservative critique that progressive governance has driven residents and businesses out of California in record numbers.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also joined the chorus of criticism in Davos, skewering Newsoms image-driven politics and thin policy rsum. The governor, Bessent said, who strikes me as Patrick Bateman meets Sparkle Beach Ken, may be the only Californian who knows less about economics than Kamala Harris.
Bessent sharpened the attack on Friday, remarking, I think he may be in over his hairdo. Being on the national stage is very different than being governor of California with no signature achievements.
I could say Gavin Newsom is a Brontosaurus with a brain the size of a walnut, the treasury secretary added. And if you brought the knee pads, maybe that was for his meeting with Alex Soros.
The Davos episode thus offered a revealing split-screen: private cordiality between Trump and Newsom on one side, and on the other, a Democratic governor using international forums and theatrical props to posture against a former president whom many conservatives still see as the more serious steward of American interests.
For voters watching 2028 take shape, the contrast between Newsoms global virtue-signaling and the harsh realities of crime, outmigration, and fiscal chaos in his own state may prove far more consequential than a few moments of backstage banter.
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