President Donald Trump blocked Gavin Newsom from entering the USA House in Davos following the California governor’s public criticism of the president’s “boring” address at the World Economic Forum.
The incident marked an escalation in tensions between the White House and California’s top elected official.
Newsom reported Wednesday that he was denied access to America’s official headquarters at the global economic summit.
The governor attributed the exclusion to pressure from the White House.
The confrontation followed Newsom’s hasty exit from Trump’s keynote address.
The California governor departed early to brief reporters on his assessment of the president’s remarks.
Newsom characterized Trump’s speech as “remarkably insignificant” in his statements to the press.
He specifically targeted the president’s comments regarding Greenland, suggesting Trump had retreated from his earlier position.
The White House responded to Newsom’s criticism through its official Rapid Response account on X. According to reports, the administration’s post stated that the governor had been relegated to “the corner cuck chair,” employing language that references adult entertainment.
USA House had scheduled Newsom to participate in a panel discussion hosted by Fortune Magazine.
The governor’s planned appearance was canceled following the access denial.
“How weak and pathetic do you have to be to be this scared of a fireside chat?” Newsom posted on X after being turned away from the venue.
His message questioned the administration’s decision to block his participation.
During his Davos speech, Trump referred to himself as NATO’s “daddy” and mentioned Newsom by name.
The president called the California governor a “good guy” and recalled their previously positive relationship, the New York Post reported.
Newsom, who political observers view as a potential 2028 presidential candidate, offered a different perspective after the speech.
“It was remarkably boring. It was remarkably insignificant. He was never going to invade Greenland. It was never real,” Newsom told reporters.
The White House Rapid Response account posted additional commentary targeting Newsom.
“The failing Governor of California (rampant with fraud) watches from the corner cuck chair as @POTUS delivers a true masterclass in Davos,” the account wrote, accompanying the message with a photograph of Newsom at Trump’s speech.
The post concluded with “Embarrassing!”
Trump’s shift on Greenland triggered widespread online discussion using the acronym TACO.
Wall Street traders coined “Trump Always Chickens Out” in May following the president’s pattern of reversing course on major policy threats.
Stock market traders posted celebrations featuring the TACO meme on X after Trump’s de-escalation on Greenland.
The response began before American markets opened, with investors in Tokyo sharing enthusiastic messages.
“Japan stocks and US stocks both going up!! So glad I believed in Trump-san’s TACO,” one Japanese trader wrote, according to the Daily Mail, using the respectful honorific for the president.
Wall Street professionals and financial analysts predicted Trump would have another TACO moment before his Davos address.
Stephen Dover, chief market strategist at Franklin Templeton, observed Tuesday evening that “the [market] decline is small, given the gravity of the situation.”
Dover concluded, “What that implies to me is that most investors are thinking TACO.”
Trump maintains close attention to Wall Street performance, given his background as a New York real estate developer. Market observers note that stocks declined during the Greenland controversy before recovering after the president committed to avoiding military force.
