Newsom trolls Trump in Davos and gets a response from the president

By CNN

Published January 21, 2026 9:08 AM

CNN

By David Wright, CNN

(CNN) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom, long one of President Donald Trump’s chief trolls, took the routine this week to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland – and got a globally televised rise out of the president.

Newsom was in the crowd Wednesday when Trump called him out during a speech in which he again demanded Denmark cede control of Greenland to the US but also moved through a range of domestic and international issues.

“We’re going to help the people in California,” Trump said. “We want to have no crime. I know Gavin was here. I used to get along so great with Gavin when I was president. Gavin is a good guy.”

A camera found Newsom in the room, smiling and appearing to chuckle.

Trump added, “I would say this, if I were a Democrat governor, or whatever, I would call up Trump, I’d say, ‘Come on in. Make us look good.’”

The moment was quickly clipped online, becoming more fodder for Trump and Newsom’s social media teams and further highlighting Newsom’s presidential ambitions.

Speaking to CNN’s Kaitlan Collins afterward, Newsom said Trump’s address was “remarkably boring” and “remarkably insignificant.”

“There wasn’t anything new about that speech for the American audience,” the governor added. He also dismissed the president’s demands for the US to acquire Greenland, including threats of military action before Trump backed off the aggressive stance in his speech Wednesday.

Trump “was never going to invade Greenland,” he said.

“I don’t think the military force was ever real in the first place, but I think the tone reflected deep anxiety” among business leaders present at the forum, Newsom said.

The California governor’s insults in Davos weren’t reserved for the president. Talking to reporters on Tuesday before Trump’s arrival, he accused attendees of “rolling over” for Trump, remarking that “I should have brought a bunch of kneepads for all the world leaders.”

“I mean, handing out crowns, handing out – this is pathetic. Nobel Prizes that are being given away. I mean, it’s just pathetic. And I hope that people understand how pathetic they look on the world stage. I mean at least from an American perspective, it’s embarrassing,” he said.

Newsom’s social media team has mimicked Trump’s tone on social media, complete with all-caps sentences and “Thank you for your attention to this matter” signoffs, along with memes and AI-generated images that sometimes include personal attacks on critics.

In an interview on “The Late Show” on CBS last year, the California governor explained his approach to Trump.

“Everything we were trying to do to break through wasn’t working, so we decided to try something novel, called humor,” Newsom said. “We put a mirror up to Trump, and the absurdity of what’s going on in this country, the absurdity of Donald Trump.”

Newsom wasn’t the only potential 2028 candidate at Davos. Michigan’s Gretchen Whitmer and Kentucky’s Andy Beshear, participated in a forum on Wednesday.

Beshear spoke to CNN’s Collins after Newsom.

“The speech was dangerous, it was disrespectful, and it was unhinged,” Beshear said. “You saw him make fun of world leaders in the room, who we call friends. You saw him ramble on, in stories, and even try to do voices. This is really concerning and for the United States, frankly, embarrassing.”