California Gov. Gavin Newsom ripped President Trump’s speech to the World Economic Forum as a snoozer.
Mr. Newsom, a potential Democratic 2028 presidential contender, sat in the hall in Davos, Switzerland, while Mr. Trump hailed an economic miracle in the U.S., criticized Europe over migration and spending, and repeated his demand for American ownership of Greenland but ruled out the use of force.
“It was remarkably boring. It was remarkably insignificant,” Mr. Newsom told CNN. “He was never going to invade Greenland.”
The governor added, “He said we should negotiate. Well, everybody here has been willing to negotiate for a year. So it had fire and fury, signifying nothing. Even by Trump standards, that was very curious.”
During his speech, Mr. Trump said Mr. Newsom was a decent guy and that they got along during his first term.
But the president has slammed the Californian at other times, pointing to his water management and inability to rebound quickly from last year’s devastating Los Angeles wildfires.
Mr. Trump has dubbed him “Newscum” and says he’s too quick to adopt “green new scam” policies.
Mr. Newsom seemed eager to hit the president where it hurts by calling his speech boring.
Mr. Trump, the consummate showman, relishes the limelight and tries to keep foreign leaders and business tycoons guessing about his plans.
The governor said he was “a little disappointed, a little nonplussed” with the president’s address and faulted him for seeming to confuse Greenland and Iceland at various points.
“He’s graded on a curve,” the governor said. “There wasn’t anything new in that speech for the American audience.”
Mr. Newsom is making the rounds at Davos as a kind of shadow U.S. representative. Last year, he attended a major climate summit in Brazil after Mr. Trump refused to go.
In Davos, the governor scolded European leaders on Tuesday for not showing more backbone in confronting Mr. Trump over Greenland and other matters.
