Gavin Newsom still won’t totally admit he’s running for president in 2028, but the California governor is forthright in his belief that Donald Trump has a sell-by date.
“Donald Trump is temporary,” Newsom told the Munich Security Conference on Friday.
“He’ll be gone in three years,” the Trump trolling Democrat added, with an eye to the future and his own place on the world stage.
Trump is “doubling down on stupid,” Newsom said at the elite event in the German city about the international policies of the MAGA administration. “I’m under assault and attack by this guy every single day. Here’s the president of the United States, he’s 80 years old, and he’s calling me a nickname an 8-year-old called me.”
BTW, that juvenile nickname is “Newscum”
Admitting “many people here that I imagine are looking at 2028 as well,” Newsom told CNN‘s Kasie Hunt before weaving about his next move. “We’ll see where things end up,” he said in an interview with Hunt from Munich of his own ambitions and that of other Democrats. Still, telling Hunt that most of the world leaders he’s spoken to see Trump and American as a “wrecking ball” right now, Newsom sure sounded like a man with an optimistic Oval Office plan.
“They see us as unreliable, and a lot of them think irrevocable — they don’t think we’ll ever come back to our original form,” the term-limited Golden State governor added. “I’m not as convinced of that. Whatever happens, we can undo, we can shape-shift, we can fix it, and while trust is difficult to re-establish, there’s too much at stake in a multinational — from a multi-international perspective that we have a lot of work to do once Trump’s done.”
The leader of the self-described “world’s fourth-largest economy” said of his own role right now and 2028: “We’re in this resistance mindset. People want us to be strong. People want us to push back, hold the line, call it out, call balls and strikes. And that’s certainly what I’ve been doing. And progressive policies have worked in certain parts of the country. But we’ll see. Again, it’s a little too early to figure that out.”
To that, Newsom isn’t going to Trump’s White House breakfast for National Governors Association on February 20. He also will not be attending the private dinner with state leaders and POTUS as Trump has rescinded invites to fellow Democratic Govs. Wes Moore of Maryland and Jared Polis of Colorado.
Adopting the dual role of leader of the resistance/opposition and Commander-in-Chief-in-waiting in Germany this weekend, Newsom’s words and meetings at the top-level annual conference follows his appearance last month at the Davos Economic Forum. Fellow Democrats and potential 2028 rivals Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Sens. Ruben Gallego and Mark Kelly of Arizona and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer also are in Munich. They’re all there, but, along with Secretary of State and likely 2028 Republican candidate Marco Rubio, none is commanding the attention and weight Newsom is — on and off the small screen.
Centering on climate change this weekend, as Trump’s EPA pulls back on decades-old environmental protections, Newsom is shining up his national security and foreign policy credentials. While in Europe during the next few days, he plans to ink agreements with Ukraine and other European nations on “advancing cooperation on economic recovery, innovation and resilience,” according his office.
Great to meet with German Environment Minister @SchneiderCar about strengthening California’s economic and climate partnerships with Germany.
My message at the @MunSecConf: The Golden State will always stand up for democratic norms, climate action, and the rule of law. pic.twitter.com/Ultoypvpoq
— Governor Gavin Newsom (@CAgovernor) February 13, 2026
“I think the American people want to see strength, conviction, authenticity,” Newsom proclaimed Friday with tones of Reagan, Clinton and Obama and a swipe at Trump’s signature stance. “Don’t say one thing privately and do another publicly. I’ve been saying that to world leaders, corporate leaders.”
Translation: Ich kandidiere für das amt des präsidenten der Vereinigten Staaten und des anführers der freien welt.
