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Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom slammed foreign world leaders for “rolling over” when confronted by President Donald Trump, declaring he should have brought “kneepads” for foreign dignitaries attending the World Economic Forum in Switzerland.
“People are rolling over. I should have brought a bunch of kneepads for all the world leaders,” Newsom told reporters at the World Economic Forum in Davos. “It’s just pathetic.”
Newsom is attending the World Economic Forum and is expected to address the forum with a speech Thursday. Trump is set to depart for Switzerland Tuesday evening, which comes as the president levels threats of imposing steep tariffs on a handful of nations as he works to acquire Greenland for the United States.
Greenland is a self-governing island within the Kingdom of Denmark that is located in the Arctic. European leaders have balked at Trump as he intensified rhetoric that it is crucial for the U.S. to take control of Greenland from a national security standpoint.
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China has recently intensified its activities in the Arctic region, while Greenland has historically served as a strategic outpost for the military to conduct missile detection during the Cold War.
Newsom said European leaders were “being complicit” with Trump, urging them to “have a backbone” while slamming gifts foreign leaders have given Trump, such as Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado gifting her Nobel Peace Prize to the president in January.
“This is pathetic,” Newsom continued in his comment to reporters. “Nobel Prizes, they are being given away. I mean, it’s just pathetic. And I hope people understand how pathetic they look on the world stage. I mean, at least from an American perspective. It’s embarrassing.”
Newsom suggested that Trump is “playing folks for fools” and compared Trump to a T. rex who is on the prowl to mate or eat.
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“This is diplomacy with Donald Trump. He’s a T.rex. You mate with him, or he devours you, one or the other. The Europeans could be (devoured) if they continue down this path and process. They need to stand tall, stand firm, stand united,” Newsom said.
“Look, a year ago we should have been having this conversation, and they didn’t. And now you’re paying the price — exactly what any one objective observer would have anticipated we’d be where we are today.”
Newsom’s office did not provide additional comment on the governor’s remarks when approached by Fox News Digital Tuesday afternoon.
Amid his meetings in Davos, Newsom was photographed with left-wing billionaire Alex Soros, the son of billionaire philanthropist George Soros, who is also attending the World Economic Forum.
Trump announced in January that he would levy a 10% tariff on Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the U.K., the Netherlands and Finland starting Feb. 1 if no deal to acquire Greenland is reached. The tariffs are bumped to 25% on June 1 if there is no deal at that stage, the president said, which has flared tensions with European leaders.
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“The proposed additional tariffs are a mistake, especially between long-standing allies. The European Union and the United States have agreed to a trade deal last July. And in politics, as in business, a deal is a deal,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said at the forum.
Trump was asked about Newsom’s presence in Davos Tuesday during a press briefing considering the pair’s ongoing political spats that commonly focus on Trump criticizing the left-wing governor’s policies in the deep blue state.
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“I had a very good relationship with Gavin Newsom when we were, you know, in office together,” Trump told the media, referring to his first term in the Oval Office. “I was president. He was the governor of California. We had a really … he would talk about it often. And, somewhere, we just went astray. I just, I just hate the way California is being run.
“We actually have people leaving. It’s never happened before, but I hate the way it’s being run. He and I had a very good relationship. Really, close to the word exceptional, but now we seem not to.”
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