Trump says Gavin Newsom 'loves' him and told him he's a 'great president'

(FILES) In this file photo taken on November 17, 2018 US President Donald Trump greets California Governor-elect Gavin Newsom (L) as he disembarks from Air Force One upon arrival at Beale Air Force Base in California, as he travels to view wildfire damage. less (FILES) In this file photo taken on November 17, 2018 US President Donald Trump greets California Governor-elect Gavin Newsom (L) as he disembarks from Air Force One upon arrival at Beale Air Force Base in ... more Photo: SAUL LOEB;Saul Loeb / AFP / Getty Images Photo: SAUL LOEB;Saul Loeb / AFP / Getty Images Image 1 of / 24 Caption Close Trump says Gavin Newsom 'loves' him and told him he's a 'great president' 1 / 24 Back to Gallery

During a Saturday appearance at the 2019 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), President Donald Trump called California Governor Gavin Newsom a "nice guy" and said that Newsom called him recently to tell him that he's a "great president."

"He called me up the other day, let's say four weeks ago or so," Trump told the CPAC crowd of Newsom. "[He said] 'I just want to tell you, you're a great president and you're one of the smartest people I've ever met.' That's what he said. "

Trump said that Newsom was looking for money for wildfire relief.

"Will he admit it? No, I doubt it," Trump said to laughs from the crowd. "And then he did start talking about in all fairness, additional money for the fire, which is OK, we have great talks. I like him."

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Trump also called Newsom a "nice guy," and said that his conversations with the governor are very different from their Twitter interactions.

"When we're face to face, nice guy, when he talks about me, not so nice," he said. "But he loves me ... They say things, politicians, to your face, and then they give a news conference two days later and you're like, 'Where did he come from? Where did he come from?'"

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Trump and Newsom have publicly feuded many times, on issues ranging from immigration to the now-abandoned high-speed rail project.

During his gubernatorial campaign, Newsom called Trump a "racist" and called on him to resign after Trump referred to countries in Africa as "s—thole countries."

Trump has called Newsom a "clown" who "wants open borders."

Eric Ting is an SFGATE staff writer. Email him at eting@sfchronicle.com and follow him on Twitter

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