When the Democrats Hold Their First Primary in Switzerland - 12/26/26

Pete Buttigieg held a town hall meeting in La Crosse, Wisconsin, last week. Kamala Harris has recently done book-signing events in Jackson, Mississippi, and Memphis, Tennessee. Other potential Democratic presidential candidates have been visiting coffee shops and union halls in Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina.

Gavin Newsom was in Davos.

The ambitious California governor had been invited to speak on Thursday at the World Economic Forum, one day after President Trump addressed the same group. It would have been an extremely valuable opportunity to participate in such an elite gathering of international leaders under any circumstances, but the chance to stand on a world stage in direct contrast to Trump’s combative mixture of America First nationalism, vituperative challenges to longtime allies, and threats of militaristic adventurism was a gold-plated gift for Newsom, the president’s most aggressive Democratic critic.

In the eyes of the world, Newsom could present himself as the alternative to Trump’s antagonistic agenda. The governor could reassure his influential audience that America was not either withdrawing from or attempting to conquer the rest of the world and that the same normalcy that Joe Biden promised during his 2020 campaign was again close at hand.

The Davos audience, like many observers both international and US-based, now see Trump less as an aberration and more as an ongoing facet of American politics in which roughly half of the electorate either enthusiastically supports or is willing to tolerate his geopolitical desires. So Newsom, like the bipartisan group of congressional members who rushed to Denmark last week to soothe rattled Europeans worried that the president was ready to invade Greenland, will have his work cut out for him.

But Newsom’s primary objective right now is not to calm international waters but to continue to elevate himself over the rest of the field of likely Democratic presidential aspirants. While the first official primary election is still two years away, Newsom has established himself as his party’s loudest and most effective Trump critic. Newsom has parlayed that bellicosity into the leading position in many early primary polls, and it earned him a coveted invitation to one of the most impactful gatherings of global power players in the world. While his potential Democratic opponents are scrambling to meet donors and activists back home, Newsom was hobnobbing with some of the planet’s most influential policy players, most powerful business leaders, and most recognizable media figures.

The end result of Newsom’s transatlantic travels was a reinforcement of the growing perception of his frontrunner status, a greatly enhanced level of worldwide visibility, and a stronger set of credentials when the state officeholder begins engaging in pre-presidential foreign policy discussions. (Trump inadvertently may have provided Newsom with an additional stature boost. It has been reported that the president’s advisors forced event hosts to cancel Newsom’s primary speaking opportunity, allowing the governor to escalate his usual criticisms of Trump’s authoritarian tendencies.)

The next and more formidable challenge for Newsom and the rest of the emerging Democratic field is another non-sanctioned primary. This one will be held in Minneapolis, the scene of the worst government-inflicted domestic violence in our country since the Vietnam War. Unlike many of the early intra-party jockeying opportunities, where virulent Trump-bashing is an easy test to pass, the tragedies that are unfolding in Minnesota’s biggest city will require a more complicated, a more nuanced, and a far more challenging brand of leadership. 

For the Democratic contenders, criticizing Trump and ICE for their excesses is one aspect of an effective leadership message. But it’s not nearly enough. The party’s eventual nominee cannot be merely their party’s critic-in-chief but must also articulate an alternative path forward that unites the political left and center. In the summer of 2020, George Floyd’s and Breonna Taylor’s murders created similar levels of outrage, but the emotional energy propelling the subsequent protests ultimately created a defund-the-police movement that has dogged progressive Democrats ever since.

The question now is whether Newsom and the other aspirants can effectively balance that unbridled anger against the tendency to push beyond what mainstream voters can tolerate. Sensing backlash against Trump, congressional Democrats decided over the weekend that passing the Homeland Security budget under these circumstances was unacceptable. But the “Abolish ICE” chants are beginning to be heard, and it’s hard to tell whether the public’s opposition to the Trump Administration’s aggressive deportation efforts will go that far.

The Davos primary was easy: just don’t be Trump. Starting in Minneapolis, the campaign trail gets more difficult.