Tom Steyer, the San Francisco hedge fund billionaire, former 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, and current California gubernatorial candidate, was surrounded yesterday by a crowd of reparations activists on Degnan Boulevard in the Leimert Park neighborhood of Los Angeles after video surfaced showing demonstrators blocking Steyer’s black SUV and shouting demands that he “cut the check.” According to people on the scene, it took a California Highway Patrol escort to extract Steyer from the scene.
“This is hilariously representative of the modern Democrat party.Out of touch billionaire masquerading as a working man’s champion gets aggressively accosted by people demanding gov’t handouts while in a black SUV and has to call for help from the same police they claim to hate.”
The video itself shows a chaotic scene. Protesters crowded around the SUV while Steyer remained inside alongside members of his security detail. Demonstrators repeatedly shouted questions about reparations and referenced Steyer’s rhetoric during his 2020 presidential campaign.
“What is your position on reparations, Tom Steyer?”“In 2020 who said no one thought about cutting a check?”“What is your position on reparations, Tom Steyer?”
Another man repeatedly yelled, “Don’t move that motherf***ing car!”
The confrontation landed awkwardly for Steyer because reparations and progressive economic policies have been central to his political brand for years. During his 2020 presidential campaign, Steyer publicly endorsed reparations for slavery and argued racial inequities were embedded throughout American public policy. He also founded NextGen America, a progressive PAC focused on climate, health care, and reproductive rights, and has spent years cultivating relationships with left-wing organizations.
“Steyer said his policies are geared toward helping the black community and the Latino community.”
Earlier this month, reports claimed that Steyer had emerged as a favorite among California progressives despite longstanding skepticism toward billionaires within the Democratic Party. The outlet described his rise as an “unexpected alliance with progressives,” noting that groups aligned with Sen. Bernie Sanders and other left-wing activists had rallied behind him in the California governor’s race.
“The most energizing and ideologically aligned candidate just happens to be a billionaire.”
That tension appeared to spill directly into the street confrontation in Los Angeles, where activists aggressively demanded answers from Steyer over reparations promises they believe Democrats have failed to deliver.
California’s reparations task force issued sweeping recommendations in 2023, including proposals for direct payments that could reach hundreds of thousands of dollars per eligible individual. The legislature held hearings and passed symbolic measures. Governor Newsom vetoed five related bills last year. Nothing was paid.
Exactly what triggered the confrontation, whether Steyer addressed the crowd directly, and the extent of any police response remain unclear based on the currently available footage. What is visible on video is a crowd of activists surrounding one of California Democrats’ leading gubernatorial candidates and demanding reparations payments directly outside his SUV window — the same candidate who spent years telling those voters he was the one willing to deliver.
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