California Gov. Gavin Newsom says President Donald Trump is a laughingstock around the world.
Trump frequently likes to tout his standing with foreign leaders. As recently as Monday, he said that many NATO leaders jokingly refer to him as the de facto leader of Europe.
“They call me the president of Europe, which is an honor,” Trump said. “I like Europe and I like those people. They’re good people. They’re great leaders.”
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However much foreign dignitaries may have learned to flatter the president, they are far less complimentary behind his back, Newsom says.
“I’ve had the privilege of meeting many foreign leaders,” Newsom said at Politico’s The California Agenda: Sacramento Summit on Wednesday. “They’re laughing behind his back. ... He’s being played everywhere. It’s an embarrassment.”
The remarks are the latest salvo in the Trump-Newsom feud.
The California governor has been on a tear against Trump on social media for weeks, trolling him with memes and tongue-in-cheek posts that imitate the president’s all-caps online rants. Amid the MAGA backlash against Cracker Barrel’s logo change, Newsom channeled the president.
“WHAT IS WRONG WITH CRACKER BARREL?? KEEP YOUR BEAUTIFUL LOGO!!! THE NEW ONE LOOKS LIKE CHEAP VELVEETA ‘CHEESE’ FROM WALMART, THE PLACE FOR ‘GROCERIES’ (AN OLD FASHIONED TERM)!!! ‘FIX IT’ ASAP! WOKE IS DEAD!! THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER. — GCN,” the governor’s press office wrote, signing off with Newsom’s initials.
When Cracker Barrel reverted to its old logo after a MAGA firestorm, Newsom chimed in again: “A MASSIVE WIN PATRIOTS!! ALL BECAUSE OF ME, GAVIN C. NEWSOM!!! CONGRATULATIONS! — GCN.”
During a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Trump veered off course to trash the California governor.
“Gavin. I know him very well. He’s incompetent,” Trump said before mimicking Newsom’s hand gestures.
“He’s got some strange hand action going on, I don’t know what the hell his problem is,” he added.
Newsom shot back on X, saying, “You really want to have the conversation about hands?”
During the summit, Newsom further assailed the president’s inflated ego.
“Trump’s a guy who retweeted himself on Mount Rushmore. This is a guy who retweeted himself, dare I say, as Pope,” Newsom said. “This is a guy who’s hawking a Trump Bible. This is a guy who’s out there selling perfume and with one of the great grifts: a coin.”
