California governor Newsom sees strong wildfire, reforestation cooperation opportunities with Türkiye - Anadolu Ajansı

California Gov. Gavin Newsom highlighted strong opportunities for cooperation with Türkiye on wildfire management and reforestation during his visit to the COP31 climate summit in Antalya.

“I think there’s a lot to learn and a lot to share,” Newsom told Anadolu in the southern Turkish resort city, noting striking parallels between California and Türkiye in their Mediterranean climates and escalating wildfire pressures.

The outgoing governor, who is leading a California delegation at the summit in the absence of an official US federal delegation, explained that he briefly wondered whether he was at home or in Türkiye due to the similar ecological challenges.

He added that exchanging firefighting technologies, best practices and reforestation approaches aligns directly with climate resilience initiatives across the US and California.

Turning to domestic politics following last week’s US midterm elections, Newsom asserted that the tenure of US President Donald Trump “as we know it, ended” after voters delivered what he termed a “historic rebuke.”

The Democratic governor emphasized that newly elected lawmakers now have a mandate to govern and present a “positive alternative agenda” to Trump ahead of the 2028 presidential race.

He added that both he and “the vast majority of people around the globe” are pleased with the election outcome, which saw Democrats capture majorities in both chambers of Congress.

Asked directly whether he plans to seek the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination, Newsom declined to commit immediately while outlining a timeline coinciding with the end of his governorship.

“We’ll see. I mean, I’ll make the determination at the beginning of the year, so we’ll spend the next few weeks with the family and make a decision early January,” he said.