Gavin Newsom spent his Davos speech slamming Trump, saying it's 'the rule of Don' in the US

• Gavin Newsom went hard with anti-Trump messaging during his session at Davos.
• He said the US was not living under the rule of law but rather "the Rule of Don."
• To illustrate his point, he waved around kneepads for corporate leaders who he said were kneeling to Trump.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom used his 30-minute speech at Davos to fire salvo after salvo at President Donald Trump.

About 10 minutes into his interview with Semafor's Ben Smith, Newsom said that the US was living under "the rule of Don."

"Co-equal branches of government, the rule of law, popular sovereignty," he said. "Tell me that that reflects the America you read about today."

"There's no rule of law. It's the rule of Don," he added.

Newsom accused the US Congress of being "supine" and called out American universities, law firms, and corporate leaders for selling out to the administration. To drive the point home, he also brought in bright red knee pads for executives — though he didn't name any CEOs.

"There are knee pads that are available to purchase. The last round of knee pads sold out just as our law firms are selling out," he said.

The governor made the comments on the fourth day of the World Economic Forum.

Newsom, at several points, launched into passionate, debate-like monologues, which elicited rounds of applause from the audience.

The politician is a Davos regular. He attended the forum multiple times while mayor of San Francisco from 2004 to 2011.

Political experts told Business Insider that his return to the event sets the stage for a potential 2028 presidential run. He announced last week that the top of his Davos agenda was to rebut Trump's vision for the future of capitalism.

Trump called out Newsom in his speech on Wednesday, saying he knew that the governor was at the event. He called Newsom a "good guy" and said he used to "get along so great" with him.

Newsom ran into some trouble in Davos, too. He was denied entry to the USA House, despite being scheduled to speak at a fireside chat.

Newsom criticized the administration in a post on X, writing: "How weak and pathetic do you have to be to be this scared of a fireside chat?"

Newsom was offered an invitation to the USA House for a "VIP Nightcap" several hours after Trump's speech, which he declined.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, Newsom also exchanged barbs with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. At a press conference on Wednesday, Bessent called Newsom "smug, too self-absorbed, and too economically illiterate to know anything."

It's not just Trump: Newsom has spent the last several years being a foil to major Republicans. He has a history of going toe-to-toe with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who was once Trump's biggest rival for the GOP presidential nomination.