California Gov. Gavin Newsom is right.
Donald Trump is only temporary.
But so aren’t we all, when you think about it. Life is short, history is long.
Gavin, a 2028 Democrat Party presidential hopeful, made his remarks about Trump at the annual Munich Security Conference last week.
No, it is not a conference where insecure politicians go for therapy.
The conference these days is where potential presidential candidates go to check the box on their foreign affairs knowledge and policy chops.
That considered, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio- Cortez, 35, also considered by some to be a presidential candidate, peaked too soon.
In fact, she imploded at the conference when on foreign policy, she failed to accurately locate Venezuela on the map (it’s above the equator) and totally bungled a simple question about Taiwan. Her lightweight, mixed salad responses echoed Kamala Harris.
Her cringeworthy appearance gave the lie to the old saying that 90% of success is just showing up. AOC showed up and was shot down.
It was so bad that one wonders just what she learned at Boston University, where the 2011 graduate majored in international relations.
Newsom, before the same worldwide audience, once again used his appearance to attack Trump, even to the point of calling Trump “stupid.”
This came during a panel discussion on climate change and Trump’s climate policy.
“Donald Trump is doubling down on stupid,” Newsom said.
Earlier Newsom, 58, said, “Donald Trump is temporary. He will be gone in three years.”
Which is true. But Newsom is also temporary and will also be “gone,” only a bit sooner.
That is because he will shortly be an ex-governor when his term expires at the end of this year. And Trump will still be President. California has term limits for governor and Newsom’s term is up.
And while Newsom, out of office in 2027, will continue bashing Trump, who will still be in office, the real Republican candidates for President in 2028 — Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio — will be under the radar, getting a free ride.
Should Newsom be the Democrat nominee for president, he would be running against one of the two, or both, and not Trump.
Newsom, who is a better Hollywood actor than a California governor, also apologized to the conference for failing to bring his acting props with him for his presentation.
These are red knee pads that he brought with him to the earlier World Economic Forum in Davos. He said they were for international business leaders who were selling out and “rolling over” for Trump. He is selling knee pads on his website.
Newsom, like a trained actor, liked the line so much that he used it again in Munich, this time chiding world leaders for not “standing up” to Trump, but kneeling before him, over Greenland and tariffs.
“It’s embarrassing. I can’t take the complicity,” he said. “I should have bought a bunch of knee pads for all the world leaders.”
What is embarrassing is that Newsom, seeking to become the leader of the most powerful nation in the world, is traveling around Europe, talking about knee pads.
Not only that, but he also criticized European heads of state for bowing, scraping and kneeling so low to Trump that they need knee pads.
How statesmanlike is that?
If Newsom were trying out for the lead role in a television movie about a candidate running for president, he might get it. But in real life — and the presidency — it is a part much too big for Gov. Knee Pads.
Veteran political reporter Peter Lucas can be reached at: peter.lucas@bostonherald.com
