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Commentator Stephen A. Smith tore into California Gov. Gavin Newsom for disparaging President Donald Trump at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, this week.
On Wednesday’s episode of Smith’s “Straight Shooter” podcast, the host asserted that while he has no problem with Newsom criticizing Trump while on American soil, slamming the president in a foreign country is a completely different story.
“I have no problem with Gavin Newsom being candid and open about his feelings about our president on United States soil. To go over to another country, Switzerland, to go over there and to be in the presence of other European leaders, speaking against the President of the United States — I’m not down with that,” Smith asserted.
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Smith questioned why Newsom was in Switzerland “speaking negatively about the President of the United States” before playing a clip of the governor criticizing Trump.
The “Straight Shooter” host reiterated that he felt it was unacceptable for an elected U.S. official to come out in opposition to the president while speaking to foreign leaders outside the country.
“Say whatever you want here, as a governor from the opposite side of the aisle of a state in the United States, on American soil — fine. But I’m one of those people: when we go somewhere else, it’s America first,” Smith said.
While acknowledging that his argument may sound “very simplistic” to some, he argued that “some things are worthy of being simple.”
“I understand you trolling Trump. I understand that you’re aiming to run for the presidency in 2028, but we got problems here in the United States,” he contended. “And don’t tell me they don’t exist in California.”
Smith then pointed to issues impacting California like sanctuary status and affordability.
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“I’ll be damned if affordability ain’t at the top of the list in the state of California! It’s expensive as hell! And a lot of it has happened on Gavin Newsom’s watch,” he railed.
Although critical of Newsom, Smith conceded that he likes the governor “as a person” and believes that the “number one impediment to his governing ability is his heart because he truly cares, and he wants to do right by everybody.”
He added that while he won’t call Newsom out of his name like others do, his decision to disparage Trump in front of the rest of the world was unacceptable.
“You going overseas to do that — that don’t cut the mustard. Can’t do that. I mean, you can, but it’s not good,” he argued. “I got a lot of problems with Donald Trump and a lot of problems with the decisions that he made. I’m not going on foreign soil to do it. I’m not going on a world stage to do it about him.”
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Smith also pointed out that Newsom had been invited onto the show on “numerous occasions” but never accepted the invitation, calling out the governor for declining to do so.
“What the hell you running from me for? I just want to ask questions. I want to give you an opportunity to answer to the people of California and to the American people if you’re going to be a presidential candidate in 2028. Gavin Newsom not appearing on this show doesn’t stop me from talking about him and his record,” he said. “I don’t know all about his record. He does. And he has the platform here anytime he wants to make sure that the record is set straight.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to Newsom for comment, but did not immediately hear back.
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On Tuesday, Newsom slammed foreign world leaders for “rolling over” when confronted by Trump, declaring he should have brought “kneepads” for foreign dignitaries attending the WEF.
“People are rolling over. I should have brought a bunch of kneepads for all the world leaders,” Newsom told reporters at the event. “It’s just pathetic.”
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Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton contributed to this report.
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