Newsom Urges U.S. Allies in Europe to Regard Trump as Temporary

California Governor Gavin Newsom addressed a panel at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, stating that he traveled there to reassure European allies that “Trump is temporary.”

“He’ll be a matter of years, not decades,” Newsom stated, predicting that Trump would suffer significant losses in the midterm elections and face legal setbacks, including restrictions on his [activity] under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

Newsom further noted that President Donald Trump’s brand of politics does not embody enduring American values. The governor instead urged leaders to maintain stable subnational partnerships with U.S. states like California during what he called a period of “instability” for America, and argued that Europe has grown more unified in response to Trump-era uncertainty.

“Maybe that’s Donald Trump’s one silver lining,” he said.

Positioning his comments as a defense of democratic norms, the Democratic governor—widely believed to be considering a 2028 presidential run—contrasted what he called “the rule of law” with “the rule of Don,” warning against an “imperial presidency.”

Newsom alluded to Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s speech at the conference earlier in the day. Rubio delivered a double-edged message in his speech, stating that Europe’s fate is intertwined with the U.S., while also faulting the continent for what he said was a drift away from shared Western values.

“The alliance has to change,” Rubio told Bloomberg News Editor-in-Chief John Micklethwait, expanding on his earlier speech. “When we come across as urgent or even critical about decisions that Europe has failed to make or made, it is because we care.”

“If Rubio was ‘referencing popular sovereignty and the rule of law, I align with his remarks,’” Newsom said. “If it’s about imperialism and an imperial presidency, I don’t necessarily.”