Anita Chabria: How's Newsom doing at Davos? Just ask Trump

Anita Chabria, Los Angeles Times on Jan 22, 2026

Published in Op Eds

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What's the absolute best way to give Gov. Gavin Newsom free publicity and a worldwide audience?

Freeze him out at Davos, where the rich and powerful are meeting in the snow-capped mountains of Switzerland. The Trump administration is learning the hard way, in real time, that petty comes with a price — in this case, being laughed at by, well, the world.

And while Congress, Europe and law may hold no terrors for our president, we all know ridicule hits him in his soft, white underbelly.

In case you missed it, at the World Economic Form in Davos, the California governor has been banned from a scheduled media talk (allegedly under pressure from the White House) that was going to be a rebuttal to Trump's ramble at the event, according to Newsom's office.

On Wednesday, Newsom's team announced that he had been turned away from USA House, the privately run but official gathering spot of the United States. Newsom was scheduled to do a fireside chat with Forbes magazine, but apparently when he arrived at the church-turned-conference hall, he was politely told to beat it.

"How weak and pathetic do you have to be to be this scared of a fireside chat?" Newsom posted on X.

Cue the outrage. Cue the coverage.

Forbes didn't know the snub was coming, according to screen shots of private text messages reviewed by The Times, but within minutes it was world news. Except maybe on CBS.

That's a lot of focus on a guy who isn't even a billionaire and doesn't run a country, and supposedly isn't even in the presidential race yet. In case you're not personally familiar with the gathering at Davos, it's pretty much the kings (and occasional queen) of the world coming together to think big thoughts. Getting cold-shouldered in that crowd is a big deal.

But it's the kind of big deal that makes Newsom look good. Blackballing him from USA House was akin to screaming in his face that he's was a big meanie and the president wasn't going to take it any more. So there!

It's funny. It's powerful. It gets him the kind of news coverage that other not-yet-candidates dream about.

It makes it clear that far from the useful foil that the Newsom-Trump rivalry is often explained as, Newsom is hitting on points that are hitting home. With Trump, and with voters. And now, maybe with world leaders — which just makes him that much more viable as a candidate. Without a doubt, this is Trump quashing dissent.

Earlier in the day, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent went after Newsom, calling Newsom "Patrick Bateman meets Sparkle Beach Ken."

That's a reference to the overly suave serial killer in the film "American Psycho" crossed with a popular 1990s version of a male Barbie known for its pretty eyes and good hair. To be fair, Newsom does resemble both of them.

That remark came in response to Newsom calling Bessent's speech "smug" for suggesting that the average American couple was buying up homes as rentals for their retirements. Personally, like most of us, I can't even afford an extra Barbie doll house, so to be fair, Newsom is right on that one.

Newsom also scored points off Trump's speech. He called it "boring," the most vicious insult you can hurl at Trump. But it was.

For more than an hour, Trump repeatedly called Greenland Iceland by mistake, while demanding it be turned over to him.

Yawn.

He went after windmills because "they kill the birds, the ruin your landscapes."

Wut?

He went after Minnesota with a particularly rabid if overused bit of racism, because it, "reminds us that the West cannot mass import foreign cultures, which have failed to ever build a successful society of their own?"

Yuck.

As Newsom pointed out in a press gaggle not too long afterward — right before being banned from his formal talk — for an American audience, it's the same ugly drivel we've subjected to for nearly a year. Absolutely none of it is fresh, though it remains awful and dangerous.

"My God, there wasn't anything new about that speech," Newsom said. "It was remarkably insignificant."

It was certainly not a speech that won Trump and credibility or support from those kings and queens. It certainly did not contain diplomacy or leadership, or frankly, even sense. Despite the laughter and applause from the audience, I doubt there are few if any outside of Trump's team who would call it a success.

But for Newsom, Davos is a win.