Treasury Sec Scott Bessent mocks Gavin Newsom at Davos: 'Patrick Bateman meets Sparkle Beach Ken'

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent roasted California Governor Gavin Newsom while both were attending the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, questioning Newsom’s economics and mocking his presence at the elite gathering.

Speaking during the high-profile forum, Bessent took aim at Newsom, who is widely speculated to be considering a 2028 presidential run, “Governor Newsom, who strikes me as Patrick Bateman meets Sparkle Beach Ken, may be the only Californian who knows less about economics than Kamala Harris,” Bessent said.

Bessent also criticized Newsom’s appearance at the event, saying the governor was attending alongside his “billionaire sugar daddy,” a reference to Alex Soros, the son of George Soros. He added that Davos was a “perfect place” for Newsom due to his hypocrisy during the Covid-19 pandemic, when Newsom was seen dining at upscale restaurants while California remained under strict lockdown orders.

Newsom attended the World Economic Forum and was seen on video appearing uneasy as President Donald Trump delivered remarks. During his speech, Trump addressed the ongoing dispute over Greenland, reiterating that the United States is pursuing a diplomatic deal to acquire the territory.

CNN’s Kaitlan Collins later asked Newsom about Trump’s speech, including whether it stood out that Trump inadvertently referred to Iceland instead of Greenland. Newsom responded by criticizing the president’s remarks.

“A lot of stuff stands out. None of this is normalized. There’s a normalization, a deviancy of consciousness and comments and commentary. He’s ahead of the curve, he’s graded on the curve. That’s really some jaw-dropping and remarkable statements that just fly in the face of facts and evidence and common sense,” Newsom said.

“The only thing that was new was … he said he was willing to negotiate,” Newsom added. “But wait a second. That’s not new either. I guess he’s been saying we’ve wanted to negotiate for over a year.”

During the same speech, Trump offered praise for Newsom, referring to him as a “good guy” and highlighting past cooperation.

“We’re going to help the people in California,” Trump said. “We want to have no crime. I know Gavin is here. I used to get along so great with Gavin when I was president. Gavin’s a good guy. And if you needed it, we’d do it in a heartbeat. We did help them a lot in Los Angeles, a lot, with the early, early in my term when they had some problems.”

While in Davos, Newsom was also questioned by Human Events’ Jack Posobiec about the ongoing chaos in Minnesota, specifically a recent incident in which anti-ICE protesters stormed a Christian church, an event where former CNN host Don Lemon was also present. Newsom dismissed the question, saying he had “no idea” what it was about and appeared surprised.