Fervid foes Trump and Gavin Newsom were ‘palling around’ backstage at Davos: report

WASHINGTON — President Trump and California Gov. Gavin Newsom were “palling around” on the sidelines of this week’s World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland after trading insults in front of attendees, according to a new report.

2WAY editor in chief Mark Halperin posted on X Thursday that he spoke with sources “in both camps” about Trump and Newsom spending “some friendly private time in Davos” — and indicated on his video show “The Morning Meeting” Friday that each seemed to “genuinely like each other.”

The president and Democratic governor spoke backstage Wednesday, just before Trump addressed WEF attendees in a lengthy speech during which he briefly praised Newsom as a “good guy.”

White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, press secretary Karoline Leavitt and deputy chiefs of staff James Blair and Stephen Miller were all present for the purported glad-handing.

“Gavin, we’re good,” the president told the governor, sharing a laugh while laying it “on thick” and “deploying that supercharming, winking manner that he uses in such cases,” Halperin said.

Newsom got in a few jabs “in a jovial and jokey manner,” the 2WAY host added, while only Miller “appeared to be less enthusiastic about engaging” among the top White House aides.

The Golden State governor’s press reps later posted video showing their principal was in the room for the speech — and boasted that the rumored 2028 Democratic presidential candidate was living “rent free” in Trump’s head.

“I have to tell you I think they like each other, by the way,” Halperin added later on his show. “I think they do genuinely like each other.”

“They both give each other hell, and there’s a little admiration that comes out of that,” added former DNC chair Jaime Harrison.

A day after the reported warm interaction, Trump issued a public statement ripping “Gavin Newscum” as a “‘Lame Duck’ Governor of a Failing State” after he departed Davos.

The president in a Truth Social post said the Democrat “should not be at Davos running around screaming for the attention of Foreign Leaders, and embarrassing our Country.”

“He made a mockery of himself, and everybody, including his staff, knows it!” Trump exploded. “He should get the permits so that people can build their homes destroyed by the fire that he could have prevented if he would have allowed water to flow from the Pacific Northwest.”

Just 13% of single-family homeowners have begin rebuilding after a wildfire destroyed nearly 7,000 homes in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles in January 2025, according to a bleak survey released earlier this month

Trump added of Newsom: “He should finish his monstrously ‘overbudget and behind schedule’ Railroad, from San Francisco to L.A., one of the Greatest Public Disasters in History, and focus on stopping Crime in the streets of California Cities — Then finish out his term, and GO HOME!”

This past July, Trump and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced the termination of $4 billion in unspent federal funding for California’s delayed and over-budget high-speed rail project.

Duffy warned about federal grants getting pulled for California’s High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) after it spent billions of dollars for more than a decade — without laying a single foot of track.

“With a record like he’s got, the ruination of one of the most beautiful places on Earth, where people are leaving in droves, it is unimaginable that he could run for President but, who knows, it’s a very strange World!” Trump assessed.

Newsom made a splash on social media with his jabs at Trump during the European summit, accusing the assembled world leaders of bending the knee to the US president.

“Diplomacy with Donald Trump? He’s a T-Rex — you mate with him or he devours you,” he said.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent later unloaded on the governor for getting out “over his hairdo” with the swipes.

“I think Gavin Newsom may be cracking up with some of these things he’s saying,” Bessent told Politico’s Dasha Burns in an interview. “If he brought the knee pads, maybe that was for his meeting with Alex Soros.”

The White House directed The Post to Trump’s Truth Social post. Newsom’s reps didn’t respond immediately to a request for comment.