California governor says he was barred from Davos event by Trump administration

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 21 (Xinhua) -- California Governor Gavin Newsom's press office said he was barred from speaking in Davos, Switzerland, on Wednesday by the Trump administration.

"Under pressure from the White House and State Department, USA House (a church acting as the official US pavilion) is now denying entry to California Governor Gavin Newsom to speak with media after Fortune -- the official media partner -- invited him to speak," said Newsom's press office in a post on X.

Newsom also criticized the Trump administration for denying him access to the American pavilion, writing on X that "California was just denied at the USA House. Last we checked, California is part of USA."

According to Newsom's staff, they were informed that a "venue-level decision" had been made to "not include an elected U.S. official" in the programming, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Newsom's office said the governor had planned to respond to remarks made by U.S. President Donald Trump earlier that day in Davos. Trump said in his address that he wanted to "get Greenland, including right, title and ownership," while insisting he would not use force.

Newsom on Tuesday criticized European political leaders for what he described as their "complicity" in failing to stand up to Trump's demands regarding Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark.

"It's time to buck up, it's time to get serious and stop being complicit," Newsom told reporters during his visit to the World Economic Forum. "It's time to stand tall and firm, have a backbone," he said.