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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent Cooked Gavin Newsom With These Remarks

Matt Vespa
Matt Vespa  |  January 30, 2026 6:30 AM

The World Economic Forum in Davos is over, but the war of words between California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was wild. For starters, all Newsom’s camp could do was mock Bessent’s sexual orientation. Guys, we know he’s gay; we don’t care. But Mr. Bessent can roll with the punches, as he knows what to expect with this job. He also delivered some haymakers to Mr. Newsom. 

And he doesn’t hold back: Bessent mocked Newsom’s presence at Davos, saying he went to see how many CEOs he forced to leave the state over its appalling record on business.  

“Gavin Newsom had to go to Davos to see all the CEO’s he chased out of California,” Bessent said on the Ruthless Podcast.  

There was also a repeated quip about Newsom’s knee-pad collection and other moments of strangeness. I’ll let you decide what to say in the comments section below:

Here’s more on the Bessent-Newsom war (via Politico): 

Upon arriving, Newsom urged European leaders not to cave to Trump’s demands over a wide-range of foreign policy issues. In a panel at the conference, the California governor brandished a pair of kneepads bearing Trump’s signature to mock world leaders he feels have been overly accommodating of the president. 

Bessent dismissed the “strange things” Newsom has said to attack Trump, including the knee pad stunt and a comment in which Newsom analogized Trump to a dinosaur. 

“To say strange things like President Trump is a tyrannosaurus rex, what the hell does that mean? I can say Gavin Newsom is a brontosaurus with a brain the size of a walnut,” Bessent said. “And, if you brought the knee pads, maybe that was for his meeting with Alex Soros.”

Gavin is way ahead of his skis on this one.