Former Democrat Rep. Katie Porter hopes to replace term-limited California Governor Gavin Newsom but she almost stormed out of an interview when challenged on exactly how she intends to lure the Golden State’s Donald Trump voters to her side.
The Independent reports newly released footage of the California gubernatorial aspirant shows her getting testy and threatening to flee an interview as she grows increasingly flustered when pushed to detail her exact plans.
Followup questions left Porter looking pained and discombobulated as she clearly felt her interviewer be held beneath contempt for daring to challenge her.
The angry exchange came last month with journalist Julie Watts of CBS News California Investigates. It quickly went south when the reporter asked the former representative about her prospects of luring Republicans.
“What do you say to the 40 percent of California voters, who you’ll need in order to win, who voted for [President Donald] Trump?” Watts asked Porter.
File/Irvine, CA – Luke Hoffman, 18, left, walks with his mother, Congresswoman and U.S. Senate candidate Katie Porter, as they arrive at the vote center at the University Hills Community Center in Irvine on Saturday, March 2, 2024, in the 2024 California presidential primary election. (Mark Rightmire/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty)
“How would I need them in order to win, ma’am?” Porter responded, seemingly unhappy with the question but chuckling for the camera, before going on to express certainty that she could pick up the remaining 60 percent of non-Trump votes, as the Independent report notes.
“I have stood on my own two feet and won Republican votes before, and that’s not something every candidate in this race can say,” Porter said, referring to her time representing “purple” Orange County.
“But you just said you don’t need those Trump voters,” Watts countered, causing the ex-congresswoman to throw up her hands in indignation and despair the interview was becoming “unnecessarily argumentative.”
When the reporter insisted the same question and methodology was used with all candidates, Porter shot back: “I don’t want to keep doing this, I’m going to call it. Thank you.”
Katie Porter then reached for the mic pinned to her lapel and attempted to remove it while castigating the interview methods of Watts.
The two eventually agreed to carry on and finish the segment.
Porter lost her bid for the Senate to Adam Schiff last year.
The 51-year-old lawyer is seeking to become California’s first-ever female governor.
On the Republican side, her challengers include Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco and former Fox News host Steve Hilton.
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