California Governor Gavin Newsom didn’t hold back at the World Economic Forum, delivering a stinging rebuke to European leaders for what he described as a “pathetic” and “complicit” response to President Donald Trump’s latest tariff threats over the Greenland dispute.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the annual summit, Newsom urged world leaders to abandon their “bull diplomacy of niceties” and confront the U.S. President’s aggressive trade tactics head-on.
The ‘T-Rex’ of Diplomacy
Newsom’s comments come amidst escalating tensions between Washington and Europe, sparked by Trump’s repeated threats to impose heavy tariffs if European nations continue to support Greenland’s autonomy.
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Newsom, a frequent and vocal critic of the Trump administration, characterized the President’s approach as predatory.
“This is diplomacy with Donald Trump,” Newsom said. “He’s a T-Rex. You mate with him or he devours you, one or the other.”
The Governor criticized what he sees as a pattern of European leaders saying one thing in private and another in public, calling for them to finally “have some spine” and “some godda*n balls.”
‘Knee Pads’ and Nobel Prizes
In a particularly sharp moment, Newsom mocked the international community’s perceived subservience to the U.S. President.
“It’s embarrassing. You just—I can’t take this complicity, people rolling over,” Newsom remarked. “I should have brought up a bunch of knee pads for all the world leaders.”
He further dismissed the recent trend of awarding accolades and “handing out crowns” as a means of appeasement, specifically mentioning the Nobel Peace Prize as being “given away” in a manner he deemed “pathetic.”
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A Call to Action
While Newsom acknowledged that it’s up to European nations to decide their own course of action, he insisted that their current strategy of “playing folks for fools” is failing on the world stage.
“I hope people understand how pathetic they look on the world stage,” Newsom concluded. “It’s time to get serious and stop being complicit.”
The Governor’s remarks highlight the growing divide between California’s leadership and the Trump administration’s foreign policy, as well as the increasing pressure on international leaders to take a definitive stand in the face of shifting global alliances.
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