President Donald Trump claimed during a speech last week that California Gov. Gavin Newsom called him “one of the smartest people I’ve ever met,” which the Democrat denied during a CNN interview last night.
Trump said in his speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference that Newsom made the remark during a phone call thanking the president for visiting the parts of California that had been badly damaged by wildfires.
Newsom told CNN’s Anderson Cooper on Monday that he spoke with Trump “because I wanted to extend to him my appreciation” for visiting California in the wake of the fires, and to “express the fact that the people in those communities were grateful to him.”
“I was grateful to him,” the governor said. “The people in those communities appreciated not only his time and attention but appreciated his commitments that he made.”
But he added that Trump “somehow” misunderstood Newsom.
“I think we hear what we want to hear,” he said. “So no, I can’t admit, quote, unquote, to what I said privately because that’s not what I said.”
“I do want to work with him on emergency preparedness and emergency planning,” Newsom continued. “I do want to rise above this politics, I think that’s important and I think people expect that. To the extent we can continue to have an open hand and not a clenched fist, I’m all for it.”
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.