California governor tells South Africa, world leaders how to handle ‘unhinged’ Donald Trump
Gavin Newsom has slammed world leaders’ capitulation to Donald Trump as ‘pathetic’, saying ‘this guy is playing folks for fools’.
California Governor Gavin Newsom has delivered a blistering critique of global diplomacy, urging world leaders – including South African officials currently in the crosshairs of the White House – to stop “rolling over” for US President Donald Trump.
Speaking to reporters at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Newsom described the international community’s response to Trump’s aggressive tariff threats and territorial demands as “pathetic” and “embarrassing”.
“I should have brought up a bunch of knee pads for all the world leaders,” Newsom quipped, visibly irritated by what he termed a “supine” approach to Trump. “It’s time to stand tall and firm, have a backbone. I can’t take this complicity.”
Donald Trump is the ‘T-Rex’ in the room
Newsom’s advice comes at a critical juncture for Pretoria. Towards the end of 2025, Trump launched a “furious attack” on South Africa, declaring the country would be barred from the 2026 G20 Summit in Miami and ordering an immediate halt to all US payments and subsidies.
Trump justified the move by citing discredited allegations of “white genocide” and “horrific human rights abuses” against Afrikaners – discredited claims the South African government has dismissed as “misinformation and distortions”.
Newsom, a Democrat frequently tipped for a 2028 presidential run, warned that traditional “niceties” are useless.
“This guy is a T-Rex,” Newsom said. “You mate with him or he devours you. Europeans need to stand tall; this guy is playing folks for fools.”
He accused leaders of “sucking up” to Trump in public while laughing at him behind his back, calling the behaviour a poor model for future generations.
South Africa stands its ground, sort of…
South Africa has already begun to show the “spine” Newsom advocates. The Department of International Relations and Cooperation’s deputy director-general Clayson Monyela challenged the narrative of exclusion, reminding the Trump administration that South Africa is a founding member of the G20.
“We don’t get invited to G20 meetings,” Monyela insisted last November, clarifying that participation is a right of membership, not a gift from the host. The Presidency reinforced this, stating that as a “sovereign constitutional democratic country”, it would not accept insults regarding its global standing.
A ‘Code Red’ for global order
Newsom’s “Code Red” warning follows a string of erratic US foreign policy moves. Trump has recently:
- Branded the UK’s Chagos Islands deal an “act of GREAT STUPIDITY“.
- Threatened 200% tariffs on French wine and champagne.
- Demanded the purchase of Greenland, threatening NATO allies with massive import taxes if they object.
French President Emmanuel Macron also joined the chorus of dissent on Tuesday, warning of a “world without rules” where international law is “trampled underfoot”.
As world leaders digest Newsom’s “knee pads” commentary, the message is clear: the era of “bull**** diplomacy” must end if the global order is to survive the “law of the jungle”.