01/20/2026January 20, 2026Europeans have been ‘played for fools’ by Trump, California governor says

California’s Democrat Governor Gavin Newsom was highly critical not just of Donald Trump but of Europe’s approach to him in comments to reporters, including DW’s political editor Michaela Küfner in Davos. 

“The Europeans should decide for themselves what to do. But one thing they can’t do is what they’ve been doing. And they’ve been played. This guy’s playing folks for fools and it’s embarrassing,” Newsom said. 

Asked if trying to placate the president didn’t amount to attempts at diplomacy with a key ally, Newson demurred. 

“This is diplomacy, with Donald Trump? He’s a T-Rex: you mate with him or he devours you, one or the other.”

He said that Europeans “need to stand tall, stand firm, stand united,” and that they were “paying the price” for not having had this conversation a year ago. 

“I don’t want to be hyperbolic about it, but this guy’s a wrecking ball,” he said. “It’s code red. And you guys are still playing by the old set of rules, everybody, the whole globe is with this guy.”

Newsom said that in his opinion, European leaders simply needed to adopt public stances closer to the ones they already voice in private. 

“Everybody’s talking behind his back, they’re laughing at him. Meanwhile, they’re sucking up to him. It’s embarrassing,” he said. “This is not diplomacy, it’s stupidity.”