President Donald Trump on Monday blasted California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s newly signed clean energy pact with the United Kingdom, calling the agreement “inappropriate” and warning British officials against partnering with the Democratic governor.
In a brief interview following Newsom’s London trip, Trump sharply criticized both the governor and the deal itself.
“The U.K.’s got enough trouble without getting involved with Gavin Newscum. Gavin is a loser. Everything he’s touched turns to garbage. His state has gone to hell, and his environmental work is a disaster.”
Trump also said it was “inappropriate” for Newsom to strike such agreements and “inappropriate for them to be dealing with him.”
The clash highlights growing tension between Trump-era federal climate policy and blue-state efforts to maintain international climate partnerships. It also places Newsom on the global stage at a moment when Democrats have been signaling to European allies that Trump’s presidency is not permanent.
Newsom signed a memorandum of understanding in London with U.K. Energy Secretary Ed Miliband pledging closer cooperation on clean energy technologies, including offshore wind development. The agreement expands access for British firms, including Octopus Energy, to California’s market and deepens collaboration between research institutions on both sides of the Atlantic.
Read More: Gavin Newsom's Achilles Heel Might Just End Up Being His Gaffetastic 'First Partner'
Under the pact, both California and the U.K. reaffirm their commitment to pursuing net-zero emissions targets under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The Trump administration withdrew the United States from the UNFCCC earlier this year.
Newsom framed the agreement as part of a broader effort to sustain international climate engagement despite changes in federal policy.
“California will continue showing the world how we can turn innovation and ambition into climate action. Today, we deepened our partnership with the United Kingdom on climate action and welcomed nearly a billion dollars in clean tech investment from Octopus Energy.”
Such memoranda are typically nonbinding and common among U.S. states, but they can carry significant political symbolism when they cut against federal policy priorities.
The governor’s European tour has carried an explicitly political message as well. Speaking at the Munich Security Conference days before the London signing, Newsom sought to reassure European leaders unsettled by the Trump administration’s foreign and climate policies. Newsom, widely viewed as a potential 2028 Democratic presidential contender, emphasized that the current administration would not define the country indefinitely.
“If there’s nothing else I can communicate today, Donald Trump is temporary. He’ll be gone in three years.”
Other Democratic officials at the conference delivered similar reassurances about the durability of U.S.–Europe relations beyond the Trump presidency.
The offshore wind component of the agreement is particularly notable given Trump’s long-standing opposition to wind energy. The president has repeatedly criticized wind turbines as inefficient and visually intrusive, and his administration has moved to curb certain wind projects domestically.
Meanwhile, the United Kingdom has accelerated its own offshore wind expansion. Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government recently approved price guarantees for eight major offshore projects capable of generating 8.4 gigawatts of electricity as part of a strategy to run Britain’s power grid on 95 percent clean electricity by 2030.
Trump has previously expressed open disdain for wind power during appearances in the U.K.
“You are paying in Scotland and in the U.K. to have these ugly monsters all over the place.”
Trump also pointed to Newsom’s domestic record, including California’s long-delayed high-speed rail project.
“How has he done with the railroad? How has he done with the various things he’s building?”
As California aligns itself more closely with European partners on clean energy and the U.K. doubles down on offshore wind despite Trump’s objections, the episode reflects not only a policy divide over climate strategy but an increasingly visible struggle over who speaks for the United States abroad.
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