Gavin Newsom delivered a sharp jab at world leaders “rolling over” for Donald Trump at Davos, joking that he “should have brought a bunch of knee pads.”
The California Governor is well-known for sending knee pads to politicians he believes have bowed down to Trump and even sells them on his website.
Now, he says that both European and American leaders look “pathetic” for failing to challenge the president at the World Economic Forum 2026, as he openly brags about the possibility of a takeover of Greenland.
"I can't take this complicity of people rolling over,” Newsom raged to Sky News. “I should have brought a bunch of knee pads for all the world leaders. I mean, handing out crowns, the Nobel prizes that are being given away. It's just pathetic.
“And I hope people understand how pathetic they look on the world stage."
Newsom’s jab after Nobel Peace Prize winner, Maria Machado, handed the award to Trump in the wake of the arrest of former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Shortly after Trump accepted the award, Newsom shared a meme of the U.S. president shouting at a child clutching a trophy, while Trump stands beside a donation box for awards.
However, Newsom’s Davos rant went beyond the stunning donation of the Nobel Prize.
He went on to urge European leaders to change their approach to negotiations with Trump, describing the president as a “T. rex.”
“You mate with him or he devours you, one or the other, and you need to stand up to it,” he said. “They need to stand tall, stand firm, stand united."
Newsom, once a Davos regular, has returned to the World Economic Forum to put pressure on the president, according to Sally Susman, a former democratic fundraiser.
"Newsom's arrival at Davos confirms his desire to be seen as the Democratic Party leader and go-to guy for world leaders wanting an alternative to President Trump," she told Business Insider.
The California Governor has often criticized the president and recently took aim at Trump for accepting Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Machado’s Nobel Peace Prize.
Machado won the prize late last year but handed the award to the U.S. President after he abducted Venezuela’s former president, Nicolas Maduro.
Despite Trump accepting an award dedicated to creating peace in the world, this year’s event in Davos has been fraught with political tensions, as Europe’s relationship with the United States comes under increased strain due to the president’s aggression towards Greenland.
In the last 24 hours, Trump has posted an A.I image of himself lecturing British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, and European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen.
He has also said that he will slap tariffs of 200 percent on French wine and cheese, as he raged about European condemnation of his plans to take control of Greenland.
On Truth Social, Trump tore into Prime Minister Starmer over the UK’s decision to give up the Chagos Islands, despite previously giving his approval for the deal. He is now claiming that the move is an “act of total weakness.”
Meanwhile, President Von der Leyen threatened an “unflinching, united and proportional” response to Trump slapping tariffs on European countries opposed to his Greenland plan, in a barbed speech at the Davos event.
As the gathering of world leaders continues, Trump is reportedly pushing to have his controversial “Board of Peace” ratified in a special ceremony.
In an invitation published on social media by an Axios reporter, Trump asked heads of state to sign the board’s charter at 10.30 am on Thursday. The U.S. president is set to deliver his own Davos speech a day earlier.
The president’s board has divided world leaders, with some accusing him of trying to circumvent the United Nations with his own organization. Membership of his board costs $1 billion.
One senior French official even suggested that France could turn down an offer to join the board.
"France was invited to join the Board of Peace and is examining the proposed legal framework with its partners. At this stage, it does not intend to give a favorable response," the official said, according to an Axios reporter. "The Charter goes beyond the sole framework of Gaza. It raises major questions, in particular regarding respect for the principles and structure of the United Nations, which cannot under any circumstances be called into question."
The board has also become controversial because Donald Trump reportedly invited Russia to become a member, despite its ongoing war in Ukraine.
Meanwhile, several Trump allies, including Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Argentine President Javier Milei, have expressed interest in joining the board.
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