California Governor Gavin Newsom speaks during a press conference at Controlled Thermal Resources as lithium extraction takes place behind him in Calipatria, Calif., on Monday, March 20, 2023.
California – California Governor Gavin Newsom tore into President Donald Trump on Wednesday during a fiery speech at the United Nations climate summit in Belém, Brazil, accusing him of waging an assault on both the environment and democracy.
With Trump declining to send any U.S. delegation to the COP30 talks — a first in modern history — Newsom has become the most senior American official on the ground, effectively stepping into a leadership void left by the administration’s absence. The California governor didn’t hold back.
“He’s an invasive species,” Newsom said of Trump. “He’s a wrecking-ball president. He’s trying to roll back the progress of the last century. He’s trying to recreate the 19th century. He’s doubling down on stupid.”
Newsom’s comments came after reports that the Trump administration plans to open parts of California’s coastline to new oil and gas drilling — a proposal Newsom dismissed as dead on arrival. “Over my dead body, full stop,” he told reporters. “He said he wants to open up the coast of California, but not across the street from Mar-a-Lago. He’s silent on that.”
Trump, who has called climate change a “con job,” has rolled back dozens of environmental protections since returning to the White House and has pushed aggressively for expanded fossil fuel production. He also withdrew the United States from the Paris Agreement, calling it “bad for American business.”
For Newsom, that decision wasn’t just bad policy — it was a global embarrassment. “Trump’s retreat from climate leadership is an abomination,” he said. “You know who’s cheering him on? President Xi of China. They’re dominating the world in clean energy production while we’re burning coal and pretending that’s a strategy.”
The governor’s trip to Brazil marks his most visible international appearance since Trump’s re-election, and it carries both symbolic and political weight. Newsom, who leads one of the world’s largest economies, has built his political brand around aggressive climate action. He’s part of the U.S. Climate Alliance — a coalition of 24 governors representing over half the country’s population — that has pledged to uphold emissions targets despite federal inaction.
More than 100 state and local officials are part of the delegation Newsom is leading to COP30, promoting what he calls “subnational diplomacy.” The idea is simple: if Washington won’t lead, California — and other like-minded states — will. “What stands in the way becomes the way,” Newsom said. “He pulled away. That’s why I pulled up.”
Even some international figures seemed relieved that Trump skipped the summit. Christiana Figueres, the former head of the UN climate body who helped negotiate the Paris accord, quipped that the U.S. absence might actually be “a good thing.” Her farewell to Washington’s official delegation was simple: “Ciao, bambino.”
Newsom, who many see as a top contender for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination, declined to discuss his own political ambitions. But his message hinted at a broader national pitch — one that reframes the climate fight around real-world costs and everyday life.
“Climate change can seem abstract,” he said. “We need to talk in terms people understand — about homes, livelihoods, and traditions. If we put it in those terms, we can start winning people over.”
In Belém, Newsom wasn’t just representing California — he was auditioning for the role of America’s climate voice in a world where the federal government has gone silent.
