California Governor Gavin Newsom stormed into the World Economic Forum in Davos this week and launched into a spectacle of partisan grandstanding, telling reporters that world leaders should “stand tall, stand firm” against President Trump and sneering that he “should have brought a bunch of kneepads” for them because their deference is “pathetic.” The gaffe-packed performance was aimed squarely at elevating Newsom’s anti-Trump bona fides on the global stage while the country faces real geopolitical questions.
Conservative commentators and pundits on Newsmax’s The Right Squad were right to rip into Newsom for his sanctimonious lecture tour; the show’s panel rightly pointed out that lecturing allies and lecturing Americans are two very different things when you preside over a state that can’t balance its books or secure its streets. The team on the conservative network underscored what ordinary Americans already feel: coastal elites love to posture abroad while the nation’s working families pay the price.
Let’s be honest about the hypocrisy: Newsom has turned the “kneepads” taunt into a publicity stunt, even selling the gag on his website, then uses it to shame foreign leaders while flaunting his own performative moral superiority. That kind of self-marketing and sanctimony plays well at Davos cocktail parties but does nothing to protect American interests or strengthen alliances. The governor’s antics are emblematic of a ruling-class arrogance that disrespects both voters and the sober work of diplomacy.
The backdrop to Newsom’s tantrum is real: President Trump has publicly pushed to acquire Greenland and has used tough rhetoric about tariffs and the Arctic security picture, forcing allies to weigh firm choices in defense and trade. Whether you cheer or jeer Trump’s approach, the fact is he is staking out an unapologetically America-first position that prioritizes U.S. strategic leverage — and that rattles global elites who preferred backroom deals to blunt-power diplomacy. Headlines about Greenland and tariff threats explain why Trump’s posture has been the talk of Davos.
From a conservative perspective, Americans should be skeptical of any politician who scolds others for being “played” while offering no concrete strategy of his own. Trump’s critics on the left and at elitist conclaves love moralizing soundbites; real leadership means using every tool on the table to secure American interests, not virtue-signaling for applause. Newsom’s performance was theatre for the gallery, not a sober contribution to solving the issues that actually matter to working families.
Political theater aside, there’s an obvious campaign calculation here: Newsom’s Davos hot take doubles as a resume-building exercise for a possible 2028 run, letting him posture as the anti-Trump option to donors and globalists. Whether Californians or the rest of the country will reward a man who spends more time on branding and bumper-sticker quips than on fixing his own state’s problems is an open question. Voters should see this for what it is — a pre-planned performance from an ambitious coastal elite.
Patriots should reject the condescending tone of the Davos crowd and Newsom’s sneering campaign theater. If America is to remain strong, we need leaders who defend our interests boldly, not elites who lecture from a safe distance and sell novelty kneepads as a punchline. The conservative response should be clear-eyed and unapologetic: stand with policies that put America first and call out performative virtue signaling wherever it appears.
