By Daniel Carter
Public Policy Analyst & Senior Editor, The US Report (TheUSReport.com)
There is a long, albeit unwritten, rule in American politics: “Politics stops at the water’s edge.” When you leave US airspace, you might still hate the President, but you don’t go into a foreign capital and actively sabotage his negotiations. You don’t beg foreign leaders to ignore the elected government of your own country.
But Gavin Newsom has never met a norm he didn’t want to hair-gel into submission.
This week in Davos, while President Trump was commanding the room and renegotiating the terms of the global order, the Governor of California decided to audition for a new role. He wasn’t acting like a Governor. He wasn’t acting like an American. He was acting like a lobbyist for a foreign power.
The Knee Pad Diplomacy
Let’s look at the tape. It wasn’t enough for Newsom to give a “fiery speech.” No, he had to bring props. He literally waved a pair of red knee pads at the audience, mocking American CEOs and politicians for “submitting” to Trump.
Think about the level of narcissism required to fly to Switzerland—on the taxpayer dime, mind you—and tell the global elite that they are the brave resistance, while the democratically elected government of the United States is an “invasive species.”
He told foreign leaders that Trump is a “wrecking ball” and essentially instructed them to ignore the White House because “relationships are just in dormancy.” He is actively telling our allies—and our adversaries—to wait out the clock. He is advising them on how to bypass the President of the United States.
Has a Governor ever done this? Not like this. Sure, we’ve had politicians criticize wars while abroad. We’ve had disagreements. But we have never seen a sitting Governor fly to a foreign summit, set up a rival court, and actively campaign against his own country’s foreign policy leverage while the President is in the same building.
The “Foreign Agent” Question
Here is a question for the legal eagles at the DOJ: At what point does Gavin Newsom cease to be the Governor of California and start becoming an unregistered foreign agent for “Sorros Inc.”?
Under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), you are supposed to register if you are acting at the order, request, or under the direction of a foreign principal to influence US policy. Newsom might not be on the payroll of a specific country, but he is certainly lobbying for the interests of the European Union and the World Economic Forum against the interests of the United States voter.
He is there to assure the globalists that the “America First” agenda is temporary. He is there to undermine our trade negotiators by signaling weakness. He is, for all intents and purposes, a diplomat for a country that doesn’t exist: The United Republic of Ego.
The Logan Act Option
Then there is the Logan Act. It’s an old law, 1799 to be exact, that forbids unauthorized citizens from negotiating with foreign governments having a dispute with the United States.
Usually, we laugh this law off. But when you have a Governor telling foreign heads of state to ignore the President’s trade policies because “capital flows” will fix it, he is walking a razor-thin line. He isn’t just offering an opinion; he is attempting to conduct a shadow foreign policy.
Revoke the Passport?
And finally, a thought experiment for my friends at the State Department.
A US Passport is the property of the US Government. It is a privilege, not a right. If you are going to use that blue book to travel to foreign lands and actively work to sabotage the diplomatic standing of the United States, maybe you shouldn’t have the privilege of carrying it.
If Gavin Newsom hates the “American-led order” under Trump so much, if he thinks we are an “invasive species,” perhaps he should apply for a passport from the World Economic Forum. I hear the waiting list is short, provided you bring your own knee pads.
In the meantime, Governor, come back to California. You have a budget deficit to fix, potholes to fill, and a state to run. The world has a leader right now, and—much to your dismay—it isn’t you.
