GAVIN NEWSOM: TROLLING DOESN’T STOP AT THE WATER’S EDGE. Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) took his campaign for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination to Europe this week. That sort of thing has happened before. In the summer of 2008, then-Sen. Barack Obama, who had not yet won the Democratic nomination, held a huge rally in Berlin, plus stops in London and Paris, during which he acted as if he had already been elected president, even though that was still a few months away.
Newsom’s trip to Europe, to the annual World Economic Forum talkfest in Davos, Switzerland, wasn’t like that. The governor traveled the nearly 6,000 miles from Sacramento to Davos, mostly to troll President Donald Trump.
Of course, Newsom did not say, “I have traveled 6,000 miles to troll Donald Trump.” Instead, he justified his presence at the World Economic Forum by noting that California is the “fourth-largest economy in the world” and, economically speaking, Californians “punch above our weight.”
Nevertheless, you probably will not be surprised to learn that in Davos, Newsom was not focused like a laser beam on the California economy. But he was paying attention to commerce — specifically, the Trump kneepads that his fundraising website is selling. “For all your groveling to Trump needs — now in Republican red,” the site says. “For the low, low price of your soul.” (That price, it turns out, is $100.)
Newsom touted the kneepads during his one appearance before an audience at Davos. “The last round of kneepads sold out,” Newsom told interviewer Ben Smith, “just as our law firms are selling out, many American universities are selling out, and yes, many corporate leaders are selling out to this administration.”
A little later, Smith mentioned Newsom’s aggressiveness, noting, “You’re running around distributing kneepads to CEOs…” “I’m not handing them out,” Newsom responded, “though I do have a few if you’d like. By the way, I’m not kidding, they’re the new Trump signature series.” As Newsom spoke, an offstage aide tossed him a pair of the red kneepads. “They are available online,” Newsom said, holding them up. “In bulk, too.”
While this was going on, Newsom’s social media team in California — the governor’s official press office — was running in high gear. It posted at least 31 clips on X from his session with Smith alone. And other stuff, too. They posted a digitally manipulated photo that appeared to show Trump sitting with Nosferatu at the unveiling of Trump’s “Board of Peace.” It posted another manipulated photo that portrayed Newsom as the brilliant rising sun over the mountains at Davos. And an image that superimposed a golden toilet over the Board of Peace logo.
The short version is that whatever the stated purpose of Newsom’s trip to Europe, the real purpose was Trump, Trump, Trump. Many years ago, there was a sort of informal rule in American statesmanship that “politics stops at the water’s edge,” meaning that there should not only be some bipartisanship in national security measures but also that politicians should not travel overseas to bash the United States or its leaders.
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The only way in which Newsom’s Davos visit evoked “politics stops at the water’s edge” was to remind everyone just how long ago those days were. Now, it’s troll, troll, troll. And don’t forget to buy the kneepads, just $100, with discounts for bulk purchases.
Maybe you think it’s silly, but so far the trolling act has been working for Newsom. He is the leader in the RealClearPolitics average of polling on the 2028 Democratic presidential contest. Newsom is at 23.6%, former Vice President Kamala Harris is at 21.4%, and former Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg is at 11%. That’s not a huge lead for the California governor, but he can also note that he is running ahead of his party’s 2024 standard-bearer, plus one of the main contenders in the 2020 Democratic race. As long as it’s working, look for Newsom’s troll routine to continue.