British Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary Ed Miliband, left, and California Governor Gavin Newsom pose after signing the Clean Energy Agreement at the Foreign Office in London on February 16, 2026 | Photo credit: AP
US President Donald Trump denounced the clean energy deal between the United Kingdom and California Governor Gavin Newsom, hours after it was signed on Monday (February 16, 2026). politics reported.
In an interview with the outlet, Mr. Trump said. Mr. Trump, a Republican, also described Mr. Newsom as a “loser,” adding that “his state has gone to hell and his environmental work is a disaster.”
Mr. Newsom is an outspoken Trump critic and has openly sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 2028.
The energy deal Mr Newsom signed with British Energy Secretary Ed Miliband on Monday pledged cooperation on clean energy technologies such as offshore wind and aimed to expand access to the California market for British firms.
“Donald Trump is knee-jerk for coal and Big Oil, selling America’s future to China,” a Newsom spokeswoman said in an email. “Governor Newsom will lead in his absence. Foreign leaders are rejecting Trump and choosing California’s vision for the future.”
A spokesman for Britain’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said it continued to work closely with the US government and that Monday’s deal with California was “just one in a series signed at state level, including Florida and Texas, which will deliver jobs and growth in the UK”.
Mr. Trump recently invited the oil and gas industry to nominate areas in southern and central California for the potential sale of offshore oil and gas leases, a move Newsom and environmental groups condemned as a threat to the state’s ecosystems.
In January, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Mr. Newsom was blocked, a move blamed on the White House.
Published – February 17, 2026 at 12:59 pm IST
