U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent attends the 56th annual World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos, Switzerland, January 20, 2026. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo
Newsom’s Davos performance didn’t go unanswered… Conservative financier Scott Bessent reportedly torched the California governor on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum, mocking Newsom’s appearance, posture, and grasp of economic policy.
Bessent derided Gavin Newsom as “a strange mix of Christian Bale and a sparkling Ken doll,” according to multiple accounts, before going further – dragging Newsom’s economic credibility and dismissing his Davos remarks as unserious grandstanding.
The takedown landed as Newsom was already under fire for his bizarre tirade against world leaders and his dismissal of President Trump’s Greenland warnings as “boring” and “never real.”
Critics say the moment crystallized a growing narrative surrounding Newsom on the world stage: big on theatrics, thin on substance, and increasingly treated as a punchline by economic heavyweights attending the global summit.
