Gov. Gavin Newsom of California blamed the Trump administration on Thursday for canceling his appearance a day earlier at an event at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
He was denied entry on Wednesday to a planned “fireside chat” with an editor for the media outlet Fortune at USA House, an American venue at the forum, forcing the event to be canceled, a spokesman for the governor said. It was not clear whether the Trump administration was responsible.
Mr. Newsom, a Democrat who often casts himself as a foil to President Trump, addressed the incident in an interview with the news outlet Semafor as part of the official Davos program on Thursday.
“They made sure it was canceled,” Mr. Newsom told Ben Smith, Semafor’s editor in chief.
“Is it surprising the Trump administration didn’t like my commentary and wanted to make sure that I was not allowed to speak?” he added. “No, it’s consistent with this administration and their authoritarian tendencies.”
A White House spokeswoman did not answer a question about whether Mr. Newsom had been stopped from entering USA House. The pavilion has corporate sponsors, but the U.S. government is an official partner at the venue.
On Tuesday in Davos, Mr. Newsom accused European leaders of failing to stand up to Mr. Trump. He said they needed “kneepads” — a prop he waved before the audience on Thursday — as he argued that political, academic and corporate institutions were “selling out” to the administration.
“The last round of kneepads sold out, just as our law firms are selling out,” he said. “Many American universities are selling out, and yes, many corporate leaders are selling out to this administration.”
Zolan Kanno-Youngs is a White House correspondent for The Times, covering President Trump and his administration.
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