Governor of California Gavin Newsom has launched a searing attack on Donald Trump, calling his absence from Cop30 an “abomination” and “disgraceful” and saying the US president is trying to rig next year’s midterm elections.
Mr Newsom’s criticisms came in a press conference at the United Nations climate summit in Belém, Brazil, where he also accused the US president of “vandalising” the US economy and global alliances.
The Democrat said he needed to remind the rest of the world that the US was not its president.
“Donald Trump is temporary,” he said. “He’ll quickly be forgotten after he’s turned out.”
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Mr Newsom is in Belém as part of the US Climate Alliance, a coalition of 24 US state governors committed to climate action despite federal policies.
He said he came because he would not let the US be relegated to a “footnote” at the conference.
[ Cop30: Spirits seesaw as climate summit brings good news and badOpens in new window ]
He dismissed as “dead on arrival” Mr Trump’s announcement hours earlier that he planned to open the waters off California to oil and gas drilling.
“It is overwhelmingly opposed by all political parties in the state of California,” he said. “It’s remarkable that he didn’t seek to promote it in his backyard in Mar a Lago. He didn’t promote it off the coast of Florida. That says everything.”
Some of his strongest comments came in response to questions about the 2028 presidential election, with suggestions Mr Newsom might be a candidate.
[ Trump’s shadow looms over summit between EU and Latin American statesOpens in new window ]
“I’m more worried about 2026 and taking back the House of Representatives,” he said. “I don’t worry about 2028, I worry about the election next November which is the most critical election of my lifetime.
“Donald Trump’s not screwing around – he’s trying to rig the 2026 election.
“He’s trying to rig the election before one vote is cast.
“He went to Texas and he redistricted [changed voting boundaries]. He did the same thing in Missouri and North Carolina. He’s going to do the same thing in Indiana and Florida.
“He sent out masked men to intimidate folks in my city. People are disappearing on the basis of their skin colour and where they congregate and the language they speak.
“He has literally militarised American cities by federalising the National Guard – 4,000 in my state and now he’s going to send them into all states in January. Watch this space.”
Mr Newsom also said Mr Trump did not understand the economic opportunities of green growth and completely underestimated China’s determination for developing green technologies.
“It’s not about electric power, this is about economic power.
“We in the state of California are not going to cede that race to China. We’re going to compete,” he said. “It’s an own goal by the president of the United States.”
