Newsom Blames Conservatives, Not Strict COVID Policies, For Recall

California Governor Gavin Newsom appeared on “MSNBC Reports” to talk about the imminent recall election.

Host Ayman Mohyldin began discussing Newsom’s COVID-19 policies which he agreed were the main point of focus behind the recall. But Newsom disagreed and poured all the blame on Republicans and the conservative media.

“Let’s talk about the intersection, if we can, of COVID and politics for a moment. You’re handling of the coronavirus, sir, has been a driving force behind the recall effort,” Mohyeldin said. “And what do you attribute those 25% that have remained unvaccinated. What do you attribute that to in your state?”

Newsom blamed the number of unvaccinated citizens primarily on “overwhelming majority of misinformation by right-wing pundits.” However, he also added that these pundits are the same people behind the recall efforts in California.

“Well, overwhelming majority of misinformation by right-wing pundits, period, full stop. Time to be a little bit more specific…There’s been a right-wing talking point here and it’s overwhelmingly coming from certain networks and it’s having an impact on getting this disease behind us…And including, by the way, the folks that are behind this damn recall in California,” Newsom said. “These are the exact same people describing mask covering to the equivalency of the Holocaust, it’s the same folks. So, look, you’re right, those things are connected, at least in this state.”

The recall campaign against Newsom first began in June 2020. The recall efforts against Newsom gained momentum after photos emerged of the governor attending a lunch at the French Laundry restaurant which was in violation of his own strict coronavirus lockdown policies.

The recall became official just last month after gaining more than 1.7 million signatures. The recall election is set for September 14.