ISTANBUL

California Governor Gavin Newsom on Wednesday claimed that his speech was blocked by the White House on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) held in the Swiss town of Davos, according to his office.

Newsom’s press office made a statement on the issue via an account on the US-based social media company X.

The statement said that Newsom had been invited by Fortune, the event’s media partner, to speak at the USA House event, officially established by the US in Davos as part of the WEF, but that his speech there was allegedly blocked by the White House.

In a post on X, Newsom underlined that despite California being part of the US, he was denied the opportunity to speak at the USA House event.

"California was just denied at the USA House. Last we checked, California is part of USA," he said.

Newsom’s press office also told the UK’s public broadcaster BBC that Fortune had announced the event weeks in advance, but officials at the US pavilion canceled the program shortly before the speech was due to begin.

According to the statement, the reason given was that the afternoon portion of the program “did not align with their afternoon programming" with another "elected official," and it was conveyed that Newsom was instead offered the opportunity to speak at an evening reception.

"No one in Davos knows who third-rate governor Newscum is or why he is frolicking around Switzerland instead of fixing the many problems he created in California," White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said in a statement to the BBC, using a derogatory name for Newsom.

Kelly did not say why Newsom was denied entry or whether the administration had anything to do with his speaking event being cancelled.

Newsom is a vociferous critic of the Trump administration and is weighing a 2028 presidential run.