Governor’s office says US pavilion bowed to pressure and pulled scheduled ‘fireside chat’ with Fortune magazine

The office of Gavin Newsom, the California governor, said his appearance at the World Economic Forum in Davos was canceled under pressure from the Trump administration.

Newsom had been scheduled to sit down with Fortune at an event sponsored by USA House, the country’s official headquarters at the annual gathering of world and economic leaders. But before the talk was due to begin, his team says, the USA House bowed to political pressure from the Trump administration and denied the governor entry.

“Under pressure from the White House and State Department, USA House (a church acting as the official US pavilion) is now denying entry to @CAGovernor Gavin Newsom to speak with media after Fortune – the official media partner – invited him to speak,” the governor’s office said in a statement shared on its official account.

Newsom shared the statement on social media, adding: “How weak and pathetic do you have to be to be this scared of a fireside chat?”