Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) alleged on Wednesday that his speaking engagement in Davos, Switzerland, was canceled due to pressure from the Trump administration.
Newsom is in Switzerland for the Davos World Economic Forum, where he was scheduled to participate in a fireside chat following President Donald Trump’s address, according to his press office. The event was to take place in the USA House, recognized by the United States as the country’s headquarters at the Davos summit.
The governor’s office said that the USA House denied him entry to the venue and event “under pressure from the White House and State Department.” The USA House said having an “elected official” speak did not “align with their afternoon programming,” according to an official and instead offered Newsom the option to attend an evening “nightcap reception” to have a drink.
“How weak and pathetic do you have to be to be this scared of a fireside chat?” Newsom asked in a post to X.
The Washington Examiner reached out to the White House for comment, prompting a spokesperson to question why Newsom was at the global summit.
“No one in Davos knows who third-rate governor Newscum is or why he is frolicking around Switzerland instead of fixing the many problems he created in California,” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said.
A USA House official contacted the Newsom administration on Wednesday to inform the governor they were canceling the event scheduled for that day and that he would not be permitted to speak with media at the American pavilion.
Fortune, the official media partner for the Davos forum, confirmed to the Washington Examiner that Newsom had been invited to participate in the USA House event. A spokesman suggested his remarks were canceled due to logistical or security reasons.
“Subsequently, USA House determined it would not be able to accommodate the Governor’s participation and communicated that decision to Fortune,” spokesman Patrick Reilly said. “Fortune programs all editorial conversations independently, though it is common with high-profile international events that participation can be affected by logistical, security, and other access considerations that involve multiple stakeholders and evolve over time … We look forward to future conversations with Governor Newsom, as well as leaders from each and every side of these important global conversations.”
The development came after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent mocked Newsom during a Davos event earlier in the day, calling him “economically illiterate Ken doll.”
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“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 was on lockdown, was having people arrested for going to church,” Bessent told a panel at the forum, referencing Newsom’s record during COVID-19.
However, Trump had kind words for Newsom during his own address to global leaders, calling the governor a “good guy” and saying the two once got along.