Republican candidates slammed Gov. Gavin Newsom for jetting to the Munich Security Conference while critics say he’s neglecting California and gearing up for a presidential bid.
Two California Republican gubernatorial hopefuls unloaded on Newsom after he attended the Munich Security Conference, following a recent appearance at Davos. They argue the governor is prioritizing global speechmaking and national ambition over running the state. Their criticism ties closely to the idea that Newsom is already setting the stage for a 2028 presidential run.
Steve Hilton, the former Fox News host, minced no words in calling out Newsom’s overseas tour and recent performance at Davos. “There’s something seriously wrong with Gavin Newsom,” Hilton, the former Fox News host, said. “Just weeks after humiliating himself at Davos, he flies back to Europe so he can lecture everyone about climate change while attacking our president and undermining America’s reputation. And for what? To pander to a bunch of foreign leaders and left-wing activists back home who can’t get enough of Newsom’s anti-Trump preening.”
Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco echoed the charge that Newsom is fleeing California’s problems rather than solving them. Bianco accused the governor of focusing more on national theatrics than on the serious, everyday issues Californians face. “We know that’s what he’s doing, but honestly, for us here in California, we’re probably better off with him gone,” Bianco said. “He can go to another country, and that means we are saved from him for the moment.”
The Munich trip also featured Newsom taking aim at President Trump over climate and energy policy, which further inflamed Republican critics. The governor criticized plans to roll back climate and clean energy measures and to eliminate federal subsidies for electric vehicles, while opponents framed those rollbacks as an effort to restore market freedom. Officials noted that subsidies can affect household costs, with mentions that electric vehicles can save drivers as much as $2,200 a year in fuel costs under certain conditions.
At the conference, Newsom delivered blunt comments about President Trump’s approach to energy and the environment, words that Republican figures seized on. “Donald Trump is doubling down on stupid,” Newsom said. ”Never in the history of the United States of America has there been a more destructive president than the current occupant of the White House in Washington, DC. He’s trying to recreate the 19th century. He’s a wholly owned subsidiary of big oil, gas, and coal.” Those lines fed the narrative from critics that Newsom is more interested in national theater than on solving California’s crises.
From a Republican perspective, the reaction was predictable: political theater abroad, excuses at home. Critics point out that while Newsom lectures global audiences, Californians wrestle with rising costs, public-safety questions, and strained public services. They say the optics of a governor jetting between Davos and Munich while touting climate credentials only deepens the divide between Sacramento and everyday voters who want tangible results.
Newsom used the Munich forum to cast California as committed to climate action and international cooperation, insisting the state will continue its work regardless of federal policies. He framed federal decisions as temporary setbacks and positioned California as a consistent partner on environmental policy.
The back-and-forth is now part of a larger pre-2028 political landscape where opponents will sharpen contrasts between governance and grandstanding. For Republican hopefuls and conservative commentators, the episode is both a policy disagreement and a political symbol: a governor seen as chasing national ambitions while critics claim the state’s problems go unaddressed. That tension is likely to animate discussions in California and on the national stage as the next presidential cycle draws nearer.
