Jake Tapper hammers away at Gov. Newsom over his COVID hypocrisy: 'What on Earth were you thinking?!'



CNN host Jake Tapper hammered away at Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) during a contentious interview on his show Tuesday where he confronted him with his own hypocritical lockdown failures.

Newsom is facing a recall effort that got a jumpstart by the massive backlash to Newsom attending a swanky dinner party without observing social distancing guidelines.

"It's been observed that the recall petition had only around 50,000 signatures until you infamously attended that dinner with multiple other households at that fancy restaurant French Laundry or whatever it's called, a birthday party for a lobbyist no less, all while you were telling Californians that they should be staying at home," said Tapper.

"So about 55,000 signatures before you had that dinner, then a month later, that 50,000 signatures had become something like 500,000," he added.

"Now I know governor, you have apologized for that dinner, you have called it a mistake to go," Tapper continued. "But I was wondering at the time, and I don't think you've answered: What on Earth were you thinking?!"

"Well, it was a friend of over a quarter of a century, he was having his 50th birthday, restaurants were open in the state, I wasn't suggesting people should not eat. Where I was wrong, and I've owned this, and I've held myself to a higher level of accountability even my worst critics, is that there were too many people at the table and that was a mistake," Newsom explained.

"At the end of the day though, this recall petition was aided not just by that, was aided by a judge who also ultimately doubled the amount of time that they could get this recall supported and ultimately on the ballot," he added.

Newsom didn't explain, nor did Tapper add, that the judge had ruled to extend the recall deadline because coronavirus lockdown orders by the governor had hampered the recall effort by organizers.

He also complained that the recall effort received $3 million of support, some of which came from other parts of the country aside from California.

"So at the end of the day, it's complicated as to why this is on, but that's not determinative," Newsom concluded.

Tapper also forced Newsom to respond to criticism of his strict coronavirus lockdown orders that has led to massive economic losses for many Californians.

Here's the video of the contentious interview:

Governor Newsom responds to recall effort against himwww.youtube.com

Far-left host of 'The Young Turks' says California is a 'wasteland' under Gov. Newsom, joins recall effort



A far-left co-host of the progressive political YouTube channel "The Young Turks" railed against California Gov. Gavin Newsom and joined the effort to recall him.

Ana Kasparian is an outspoken progressive commentator but even she had to admit that California had become an "absolute wasteland" under Newsom's leadership.

"I'm a native Angeleno, I was born and raised in California, I love my state, I love the people in this state," Kasparian said.

"But it is an absolute wasteland right now," she added. "Every freeway bridge is full of people living in tents. There's excrement on our sidewalks. It's unsafe. Crime has gone up. And when it comes to coronavirus, I mean, the fish rots from the head down."

Kasparian was speaking with Elex Michaelson on his show, "The Issue Is," in February when she made the comments. She went on to highlight Newsom's hypocrisy when he was caught dining at an exclusive restaurant while telling Californians to lockdown.

"While Americans are encouraged to shelter in place, encouraged to practice social distancing, no eating indoors at restaurants, he was seen at The French Laundry meeting up with his lobbyist buddies. That is unacceptable," Kasparian said.

"I have not seen competent leadership from Gavin Newsom, and I will state on this show every single member of my family signed our names, provided our signatures to recall him," she concluded.

Michaelson and his other guest, Gianno Caldwell from Fox News, were visibly stunned by Kasparian's admission.

Kasparian also said that Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, another Democrat, should be made to face the political consequences of mismanagement in the county of Los Angeles.

She reiterated her point on Twitter after the show aired.

"It's true. Newsom is awful. Bailed out private utilities that caused massive fires. Doled out fracking permits. But thanks for the porta pottys under freeway bridges. So much more humane than homes!" wrote Kasparian.

The organization behind the recall effort said on Sunday that they had gathered almost 2 million signatures, more than enough than the 1.5 million threshold needed to spur a recall election. They will continue to gather signatures in case some portion of those collected are invalidated. The deadline for the signatures is March 17.

Here are Kasparian's comments:

The Young Turks Host Ana Kasparian Backs the Recall of CA Gov. Gavin Newsomwww.youtube.com

TikTok video shows Gavin Newsom inside a restaurant while not social distancing



Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom was seen inside a restaurant in Fresno, California, where restaurants are only permitted to be open if they are outside because of Newsom's own stay-at-home order.

Newsom is seen on a TikTok video and photos at the Los Amigos restaurant in Fresno. Based on Newsom's "Blueprint for a Safer Economy" restrictions, Fresno is a purple tier area, which means the area has "widespread" COVID-19 infections. Purple tier regions prohibit bars, breweries, and distilleries to be open, plus indoor dining is banned. Only restaurants and wineries may offer outdoor service.

Despite Newsom's own strict coronavirus constraints that he signed into effect, the governor was inside a restaurant. Newsom, who has preached social distancing to his constituents for months, is seen not physically distancing in the restaurant.

Photo ops w/ no social distancing are okay inside of purple tier restaurants, but don’t you dare wait inside for yo… https://t.co/rcIIkD4VSK
— Bill Melugin (@Bill Melugin)1614488797.0

The video that was originally posted to TikTok shows Newsom with comedian George Lopez.

@PorscheCutie @RichardGrenell @TheLeoTerrell @JamesBradleyCA @KevinKileyCA @BuzzPatterson Here’s the video. https://t.co/CME7vZVzoW
— Reopen California Schools (@Reopen California Schools)1614462972.0

In a video posted by the restaurant, Lopez is seen without a face mask and not practicing social distancing, which Newsom has demanded all Californians practice since the beginning of the pandemic.

Chef Andrew Gruel, a prominent restaurateur in Los Angeles, claimed that Newsom was "dining/drinking" at the restaurant. He astutely noted that the restaurant had a table full of refreshments that commenters believe to be pitchers of water with limes or margaritas.

California is the only state where indoor dining is banned. Industry gutted. It’s an explosive topic. Newsom holds… https://t.co/L3O7aSrbV3
— Chef Andrew Gruel (@Chef Andrew Gruel)1614487940.0

Gruel called for Newsom's resignation on Twitter:

Newsom must resign ASAP. Yesterday he was inside a restaurant dining and doing a painfully cringe-worthy "bit" with George Lopez in a county that is NOT ALLOWED to have indoor dining. It is in purple tier. This is a slap in the face to every restaurant worker. Every citizen.
Newsom must resign ASAP. Yesterday he was inside a restaurant dining and doing a painfully cringe-worthy “bit” with… https://t.co/jdMeHvG7aB
— Chef Andrew Gruel (@Chef Andrew Gruel)1614481490.0

A spokesperson for Newsom's office told Fox News that the governor did not dine at the restaurant. Newsom's camp said he was there to meet with the restaurant's owners, who received a COVID-19 relief grant.

Newsom infamously sparked criticism in November after he flouted his own coronavirus rules when he was caught dining at the luxurious French Laundry in Napa. The Michelin-star restaurant reportedly received $2.4 million in Paycheck Protection Program loans from the Small Business Administration, which is allegedly 17 times more than the average California restaurant.

EXCLUSIVE: We've obtained photos of Governor Gavin Newsom at the Napa dinner party he's in hot water over. The phot… https://t.co/Py6J960zE6
— Bill Melugin (@Bill Melugin)1605677199.0

California voters who are disappointed in Newsom's leadership and hypocrisy during the coronavirus pandemic have started a petition to recall him. The petition organized by The Recall Newsom campaign purportedly has 1,825,000 signatures, more than the necessary threshold of 1,497,709 signatures.

During a speech at CPAC, former Acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell hinted that he may run for governor of California if Newsom is recalled.