Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent just took a flamethrower to Gavin Newsom at Davos, and it was glorious.
Bessent used his high-profile appearance at the World Economic Forum to absolutely demolish California’s governor and wannabe president, who’s been running around Switzerland trying to position himself as Trump’s foil on the global stage.
Spoiler alert: it didn’t go well for Newsom.
On Wednesday, Newsom called Bessent “smug,” and Bessent had some words for Newsom.
“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. He’s here this week with his billionaire sugar daddy, Alex Soros, and Davos is a perfect place for a man who, when everyone else is on lockdown, when he was having people arrested for going to church,” Bessent said. “Shame on him. He is too smug, too self-absorbed, and too economically illiterate to know anything.”
But Bessent wasn’t done with Newsom. During a Friday interview at Davos, Bessent responded to Newsom’s bizarre comparison of President Trump to a Tyrannosaurus Rex, and it was savage.
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“I think Gavin Newsom may be cracking up with some of these things he’s saying. I think he may be in over his hairdo, and, you know, being on the national stage is very different than being governor of California, you know, with no signature achievements,” he said. “But to say strange things like, ‘President Trump is a Tyrannosaurus Rex,’ what the hell does that mean? You know, I could say Gavin Newsom is a Brontosaurus with a brain the size of a walnut.”
And then came the knockout blow.
“And, you know, if he brought the knee pads, maybe that was for his meeting with Alex Soros. I don’t know.”
.@SecScottBessent: “I think Gavin Newsom may be cracking up with some of these things he’s saying. I think he may be in over his hairdo … if he brought the kneepads, maybe that was for his meeting with Alex Soros, I don’t know.” 🤣 pic.twitter.com/i25NubkSHL
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) January 23, 2026
If you don’t get the joke, I’m not going to explain it. But that was brutal. Bessent was alluding to the fact that he’s selling $100 kneepads on his website featuring Trump’s signature.
It’s obvious to anyone that Newsom is using Davos to audition for a 2028 presidential run, trying to present himself as Trump’s opposite to a room full of European elites. The problem? It’s backfiring spectacularly. Instead of elevating his standing, Newsom’s performances are exposing his weaknesses. Even Stephen A. Smith blasted Newsom for his behavior at Davos.
“Gavin Newsom, respectfully, what are you doing?” Smith asked on his podcast earlier this week. “You’re the governor of the state of California in the United States of America. Why are you over in Davos, Switzerland, talking to folks and speaking negatively about the president of the United States?”
He added, “I have no problem with Gavin Newsom being candid and open about his feelings about our president on United States soil.”
Newsom is all hair gel and no substance. He can slick back his hair and smile for the cameras, and yet, he can’t even come out looking good after a tiff with Bessent.
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