White House Steps In! What Gavin Newsom Tried to Say in Davos Will SHOCK You!

In a striking confrontation at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, California Governor Gavin Newsom accused the White House of obstructing his scheduled interview with Fortune magazine. This incident unfolded just one day after Newsom publicly criticized European leaders for their lack of resistance to former President Donald Trump.

This latest episode illustrates the ongoing tension between Newsom and the Trump administration, a feud that has deepened since last summer when Trump deployed the National Guard to Los Angeles. Their relationship soured further during Newsom's winter visit to Washington, where he sought wildfire recovery aid but left without a meeting with any officials from the White House.

Newsom was supposed to be interviewed on Wednesday evening at the USA House, a venue funded by private entities like Microsoft and McKinsey, which serves as a gathering point for U.S. business leaders and government officials during the conference. The U.S. State Department partners with this venue, and multiple Trump administration officials, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, have spoken there. Bessent criticized Newsom during the event, labeling him “economically illiterate” and asserting, “he’s not speaking” at the venue.

According to a spokesperson for Newsom, the organizers informed his office just hours before the interview that it was canceled, and he was barred from addressing the press at the venue. Instead, the governor received an invitation to a private reception later that night. Despite this setback, Newsom is still expected to engage with the news outlet Semafor at the official economic forum on Thursday morning.

In a scathing social media post, Newsom accused USA House organizers of succumbing to “pressure from the White House and State Department.” He remarked, “How weak and pathetic do you have to be to be this scared of a fireside chat?”

The White House responded through spokesperson Anna Kelly, who dismissed Newsom’s prominence, labeling him a “third-rate governor” who was “frolicking around Switzerland instead of fixing the many problems he created in California.”

Newsom's trip to Davos was not merely for networking; he aimed to position California as a counterbalance to Trump's policies, particularly in the areas of climate change and economic strategy. Earlier in the week, he announced that California has surpassed 2.5 million purchases of zero-emission electric vehicles, a sector he argues Trump is neglecting, thereby ceding ground to China.

The governor’s advocacy extended to urging European leaders to stand firm against Trump, who has made headlines with his remarks about potentially annexing Greenland, a territory governed by Denmark. During Trump’s own address at the forum, he mentioned Newsom by name, prompting the governor to be caught on video reacting with laughter and sighs as Trump boasted about aggressive immigration policies affecting blue states. Trump quipped, “If I were a Democratic governor or whatever, I would call up Trump, I’d say, ‘Come on in, make us look good.’”

This incident at Davos not only highlights the contentious dynamics between state and federal leadership but also underscores the broader implications for national discourse around climate policy, economic strategy, and the role of U.S. governors in the global arena. As Newsom continues to navigate these tumultuous waters, the attention remains on how his actions may influence California’s position and its relationship with the federal government.