Newsom to European Leaders: “Stop Being Complicit,” “Trump Is A T-Rex, You Mate With Him, Or He Devours You”
Trying to position himself as the anti-Trump moral tribune of the West, at the World Economic Forum on Monday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom publicly shamed and demeaned European leaders for continuing to attempt diplomacy with President Donald Trump. Newsom argued with near-apocalyptic rhetoric (“SS uniforms,” “law of the jungle,” “people disappearing”) that Trump operates by coercion over diplomacy and warned that Trump is “not mad, he’s very intentional-but he’s unmoored and unhinged.” The California governor mocks elites who he says privately recognize this but publicly accommodate him: “I should have brought a bunch of kneepads for all the world leaders.” Newsom also warns that they’re “being played” and are in real danger: “Diplomacy with Donald Trump? He’s a T-Rex. You mate with him, or he devours you.”
“Stop being complicit,” Newsom said. “It’s time to stand tall and firm and have a backbone. I can’t take this complicity!” “I should have brought a bunch of kneepads for all the world leaders,” Newsom said. “I hope people understand how pathetic they look on the world stage, I mean, at least from an American perspective, it’s embarrassing.” “So what should Europe be doing?” a reporter asked. “The Europeans should decide for themselves what to do, but one thing they can’t do is what they’ve been doing,” Newsom said. “They’ve been played. This guy is playing folks for fools and it’s embarrassing.” “Europeans think this is diplomacy, and this could ultimately work?” a reporter interrupted. “Diplomacy with Donald Trump? He’s a T-Rex. You mate with him, or he devours you-one or the other,” Newsom said. Reporter: “You think he’s going to devour us?” “No, the Europeans could be-if they continue down this path and process,” Newsom said. “They need to stand tall, stand firm, stand united.” “Look, a year ago, we should have been having this conversation, and they didn’t, okay? And now you’re paying the price. Exactly what any objective observer would have anticipated-we’d be where we are today.” “This guy’s a wrecking ball,” Newsom said. “I hope people are waking up to what we’re dealing with. This is code red. I mean, you guys are still playing by an old set of rules. Everybody-the globe-is dealing with this guy. He’s unmoored. It’s the law of the jungle. It’s the rule of dawn, and I hope it’s dawning on the world what we’re up against. I mean, this is serious.” “This guy-he’s not mad, he’s very intentional-but he’s unmoored and he’s unhinged, and it requires you-” “What’s his goal?” someone asked. “The goal is whatever he wants it to be,” Newsom said. “The goal is the world in his image. What would you expect of a narcissist?” “Why don’t folks do what they say publicly, what they’re saying in private? Why don’t they just simply do what they know is right? I mean, everybody’s talking behind his back,” Newsom said. “They’re laughing at him. Meanwhile, they’re sucking up to him. It’s embarrassing. I mean, this is your modeling behavior for our kids-for generations of folks. This is not diplomacy. This is stupidity.” A reporter asked: “Does this end with a military solution?” “I mean, who knows what happens in that respect,” Newsom said. “With Donald Trump-you saw what happened to Maduro. You’ve seen what’s happening on American streets. You saw what happened in the state of California where he put 700 active-duty Marines. He didn’t send them overseas. Last year he sent them to an American city-the second-largest city in the United States of America. He’s got 1,500 active members of the military on call near Minneapolis. This guy has put a police state-you’ve got a guy dressed up in an SS uniform.” “You’ve seen this guy, Greg Bovino? We’ve seen what’s happening with ICE and secret police and masked men-people disappearing. Wake up. Where the hell has everybody been?” “Stop with this bullsh-t diplomacy of niceties, and somehow we’re all going to figure it out. Stop saying one thing privately and another publicly. Have some spine. Have some goddamn pulse. A reporter concluded: “You say you stand up, but you’re not being clear on–” “I’m being crystal clear,” Newsom said, before walking away.
