British Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary Ed Miliband, left, and California state governor Gavin Newsom pose after signing a clean energy agreement at the Foreign Office in London, on February 16, 2026
| Photo Credit: AP
U.S. President Donald Trump denounced a clean energy agreement between the United Kingdom and California Governor Gavin Newsom hours after it was signed on Monday (February 16, 2026), Politico reported.
In an interview with the outlet, Mr. Trump said it was “inappropriate” for Britain to be dealing with the Democratic governor. Mr. Trump, a Republican, also branded Mr. Newsom “a loser,” saying “his State has gone to hell, and his environmental work is a disaster.”
Mr. Newsom is an outspoken Trump critic and has publicly mulled seeking the Democratic presidential nomination in 2028.
The energy agreement Mr. Newsom inked with British Energy Secretary Ed Miliband on Monday pledged cooperation on clean energy technologies such as offshore wind, and aims to expand access for British firms to California’s market.
“Donald Trump is on his knees for coal and Big Oil, selling out America’s future to China,” a Newsom spokesperson said in an email. “Governor Newsom will continue to lead in his absence. Foreign leaders are rejecting Trump and choosing California’s vision for the future.”
A spokesperson for Britain’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said that it continued to work closely with the U.S. government and that Monday’s agreement with California was “just one in a series signed at the State level, including Florida and Texas, that will deliver jobs and growth in the U.K.”
Mr. Trump recently invited the oil and gas industry to nominate areas in Southern and Central California for a potential sale of offshore oil and gas leases as soon as next year, a move Newsom and environmental groups condemned as a threat to the state’s ecosystems.
In January, Mr. Newsom was blocked from speaking inside the official U.S. venue at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, a move he blamed on the White House.
Published – February 17, 2026 12:59 pm IST
