Jake Tapper Confronts Gavin Newsom Over French Laundry Dinner: ‘What on Earth Were You Thinking?’

CNN’s Jake Tapper confronted California Governor Gavin Newsom Tuesday over his infamous dinner at the French Laundry that earned him widespread criticism.

Newsom is facing a recall effort over his leadership during the coronavirus pandemic. He swiped at some of the prominent people pushing the effort, but Tapper said, “Certainly all two million Californians who signed this aren’t all Trumpsters.”

“We have interviewed people who were supporters of yours who are now supporting the recall effort,” he noted. “They think that the measures you took were too harsh, too aggressive.”

Newsom defended his actions and argued “we saved thousands and thousands of lives.”

There’s a bright light at the end of the tunnel, but I’m deeply mindful and deeply respectful to all the anxieties that people have felt over the last year,” he added.

Tapper then brought up the infamous dinner at the French Laundry Newsom attended and said, “A birthday party for a lobbyist, no less. All while you were telling Californians that they should be staying at home.”

“I know, governor, you have apologized for that dinner,” he continued. “You called it a mistake to go, but what I was wondering at the time, and I don’t think you’ve answered: what on Earth were you thinking?”

Newsom defended his attendance at the dinner but said “where I was wrong” was to attend an event where “there were too many people at the table.”

“So you don’t regret going to the dinner. You regret the fact that there were too many people at the table? Like would you have gone if it had been six people or something or four people?” Tapper asked.

“Restaurants were open in the vast majority of the state. That’s neither here nor there. It’s a mistake and I should have gotten up to left when I sat down at that table and there were too many people at the table,” the governor responded.

You can watch above, via CNN.