CA Gov. Gavin Newsom Apologizes After Getting Busted Attending Birthday Party That Flouted His Own Strict Covid Guidelines

By Sarah RumpfNov 13th, 2020, 5:06 pm
 
Gavin Newsom

Agustin Paullier, AFP/Getty

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has imposed some of the country’s strictest Covid restrictions since the pandemic began, but he’s under fire after getting caught flouting his own administration’s policies to attend a top advisor’s birthday party.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Newsom and his wife Jennifer Siebel Newsom attended a November 6th dinner  celebrating the 50th birthday of Jason Kinney, his longtime friend and advisor with the lobbying firm Axiom Advisors. The dinner was held at The French Laundry, a famed Napa County restaurant.

The guidelines issued by the California Department of Public Health allowed small private gatherings to resume on October 9th, but still prohibited gatherings involving more than three households, and required them to be held outside, and recommended that they be limited to two hours or less. The department has issued a separate set of rules for dining establishments but does not specific whether gatherings must be limited to three households.

The dinner was reportedly attended by at least 12 people, and representatives for Newsom and Kinney did not dispute that it included more than three households.

A spokesman for the governor initially defended the Newsoms attendance at the dinner because it was outside, but Newsom later issued a statement apologizing for the lapse in judgment.

“While our family followed the restaurant’s health protocols and took safety precautions, we should have modeled better behavior and not joined the dinner,” said Newsom.

Predictably, Newsom is getting criticism and mockery for going to the dinner, especially since he was publicly advocating against such gatherings as recently as Monday, saying at a news conference:

It’s for obvious reasons. People are letting their guard down. They’re taking their masks off. They’re starting to get together outside of their household cohorts. They’re starting to see businesses reopen and we’re starting, again, to see more people mixing. As it gets colder, we’ll see more still.

As one of Politico’s California reporters, Jeremy White, noted, Newsom’s appointee to the California Department of Health and Human Services, Dr. Mark Ghaly, was making similar comments earlier today as well:

Other than the statement issued to the Chronicle, Newsom has been silent. His most recent tweet from Thursday evening urged his followers to take the increase in the state’s Covid cases and hospitalizations “seriously” and to wear masks and physically distance.

“Do not let your guard down,” tweeted Newsom. “Your actions could literally save lives.”

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Sarah Rumpf - Contributing Editor

Sarah Rumpf joined Mediaite in 2020 and is a Contributing Editor focusing on politics, law, and the media. A native Floridian, Sarah attended the University of Florida, graduating with a double major in Political Science and German, and earned her Juris Doctor, cum laude, from the UF College of Law. Sarah's writing has been featured at National Review, The Daily Beast, Reason, Law & Crime, Independent Journal Review, Texas Monthly, The Capitolist, Breitbart Texas, Townhall, RedState, The Orlando Sentinel, and the Austin-American Statesman, and her political commentary has led to appearances on the BBC, MSNBC, NewsNation, Fox 35 Orlando, Fox 7 Austin, The Young Turks, The Dean Obeidallah Show, and other television, radio, and podcast programs across the globe.