Trump attacks 'inappropriate' California-UK clean energy pact, mocks Newsom as 'loser'
WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump on Monday, February 16, sharply criticized a new clean energy agreement between California and the United Kingdom, mocking Gov Gavin Newsom and warning British leaders against working with the Democratic governor.
“The UK’s got enough trouble without getting involved with Gavin Newscum,” Trump said in a brief interview with POLITICO, using a derogatory nickname for Newsom. Trump called the governor “a loser” and said California’s environmental policies had been a “disaster.”
He added that it was “inappropriate” for Newsom to strike such agreements and “inappropriate for them to be dealing with him.”
Gavin Newsom signs clean energy agreement in London
Trump’s remarks followed Newsom’s signing of a memorandum of understanding in London with UK Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, pledging cooperation on clean energy technologies such as offshore wind.
The agreement also aims to expand access for British firms, including Octopus Energy, to California’s market and to strengthen collaboration between research institutions in the US and the UK.
Newsom, widely seen as a potential 2028 Democratic presidential contender, has been touring Europe in part to reassure US allies that Trump’s shake-up of transatlantic relations and climate policy is temporary.
Earlier this year, the Trump administration withdrew the United States from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, while California and the UK reaffirmed their commitment to net-zero emissions targets under the global accord.
Trump warns Britain over Gavin Newsom involvement
Trump, who has frequently mocked wind energy and criticized Newsom’s leadership of the nation’s most populous state, warned that the deal would backfire for Britain.
“People are leaving,” Trump said of California. “The worst thing that the UK can do is get involved in Gavin. If they did to the UK what he did to California, this will not be a very successful venture.”
The president also revived criticism of California’s long-delayed high-speed rail project, portraying it as emblematic of Newsom’s governance.
“How has he done with the railroad?” Trump said. “How has he done with the various things he’s building?”
A press release issued by the UK government said that the agreement would connect the UK’s fast-growing clean energy sector with the Californian market, opening up new export opportunities, supporting skilled job opportunities across the UK, and backing British businesses to compete and grow with companies like Octopus Energy already expanding on the West Coast.
"It also delivers a commitment to strengthen cooperation on clean energy, climate and the environment to speed up the rollout of technologies that cut bills for families, reduce exposure to volatile fossil fuel markets and protect the natural environment," the release stated.
"This builds on other MoUs signed by the UK focused on economic cooperation with 11 other US states, including Washington and Florida," it further added.
