For over 11 days, after receiving a COVID-19 booster shot, California Governor Gavin Newsom dropped off of the public radar.
There has been much speculation as to why he recently missed the international climate summit.
I noted yesterday that his office indicated he had “family obligations.” It turns out that the obligations were related to….Halloween.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom said he abruptly pulled out of the international climate change summit to go trick-or-treating with his family. He went as a pirate.The governor faced criticism in recent days after he abruptly canceled his trip to the COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland, over “family obligations.” Local news outlet KABC reported that Newsom’s trip had been in the works for more than a year.On Saturday, the governor sparked further criticism after reportedly attending an oil heiress’ wedding officiated by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., after more than a week of no public appearances.During his first appearance since the backlash on Tuesday, Newsom said at the California Economic Summit that he canceled his trip to go trick-or-treating with his kids and assuage his dad guilt.
Newsom and his wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, had planned to attend Glasgow, which would have forced them to miss the holiday fun. The children “staged an intervention.”
That upset the four Newsom children — ages 5, 8, 10 and 12 — so they staged what Newsom called an “intervention” at dinner.“Mom and Dad missing Halloween, for them that was worse than missing Christmas,” Newsom told his former economic adviser Lenny Mendonca at a “fireside chat” during the California Forward economic conference in Monterey.Newsom said he explained to his kids why he and Siebel Newsom needed to go. But the next morning he woke with a knot in his stomach and decided he had to cancel.
I entirely support Newsom’s decision. Nothing would have separated my child and me during Halloween. Furthermore, deciding not to waste time on the climate nonsense is probably one of Newsom’s better decisions, especially in light of the California port problems.
Interestingly, the lack of effectively dealing with the port issues has led Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to do what Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis recently did: Persuade shippers to come to his state’s ports.
Gov. Greg Abbott, tweeting out an ad targeting California, is encouraging shippers to choose Texas ports instead.“Texas ports are open & ready to help fix America’s supply chain backlog. We can get goods out faster & at a lower cost than California due to our centralized location. Choose Texas,” Abbott wrote.According to the Texas Department of Transportation, the Lone Star State in 2018 ranked second in the nation for total waterborne tonnage handled and five of its ports are ranked in the top 20 U.S. ports by total tonnage.
He is the Chief Executive of this state and a public servant. However, his complete disregard for transparency and his team’s disdainful response to inquiries about his schedule justifiably angered many Californians. Reasonable answers to citizens’ concerns would have been far more appropriate.
Also, prioritizing California’s needs over the global elite would be a good, new look for Newsom. Snappy remarks are not going to stop Abbott or DeSantis from trying to woo more businesses. Here is Newsom at the end of today’s economic conference:
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