Newsom calls out Tucker Carlson, Marjorie Taylor Greene for spreading vaccine misinformation
Gov. Gavin Newsom lambasted conservative firebrand Tucker Carlson and Republican lawmakers for spreading misinformation about the coronavirus vaccine.
Newsom made the remarks during a press conference in Oakland announcing the state’s new requirement for health care workers and state employees to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination or get tested weekly.
“We are exhausted, respectfully, exhausted by the ideological prism that to many Americans are living under,” Newsom said. “We’re exhausted by the Ron Johnsons and the Tucker Carlsons and exhausted by the Marjorie Taylor Greenes, we’re exhausted y the right-wing echo chamber that has been perpetuating misinformation around the vaccine and its efficacy and safety.”
Newsom expressed his frustrations as COVID rates are on the rise again in California, driven by the more contagious delta variant. The governor said that we’re at a point in the pandemic where individual choices to remain unvaccinated are impacting everyone in a devastating way.
“We’re exhausted by the politicalization of this pandemic and that includes mask wearing that has been equated to the Holocaust. It’s disgraceful, it’s unconscionable, and it needs to be called out,” he said.
Following his remarks, Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene took to Twitter to respond to Newsom’s comments.
“@GavinNewson you know what is exhausting to the people of California? Your communist dictatorship. Shutting down businesses, closing churches, schools, and beaches is disgraceful Mandating vaccines against people’s will is unconscionable Which is why you’re being recalled,” she wrote.
To which Newsom replied, “Disgraceful? Here's a word -- murderous. Your anti-vaccine lies are literally killing Americans. Your own supporters are following you off a cliff and into the ICU. Come clean about vaccines -- they save lives.”
Doug Ose lays out plan for public education
Republican recall candidate Doug Ose laid out his K-12 public education plan for California on Monday.
The former California congressman’s plan focuses on giving parents a choice in education to ensure students graduate “with the basic tools to compete in the marketplace,” Ose’s campaign wrote in a press release.
“A sound education is the fundamental building block to creating lifelong success and generational wealth,” Ose said.
California GOP to vote on endorsing a candidate for upcoming recall
State Republicans are strategizing for the upcoming recall election against Gov. Gavin Newsom.
In just 50 days, Californians will cast their vote on whether to keep Newsom in office. And now members of the GOP are hoping to make the choice clearer.
Over the weekend, the California Republican party decided to vote early next month to endorse a candidate. Still, that doesn't mean a candidate will get that endorsement.
That is because a candidate must get 60% of delegates from the GOP to vote for them if they want that endorsement. If they get it, the candidate gets campaign support and resources.
Right now though, the idea of the GOP endorsing one candidate has some critics. Republican candidate John Cox says he won't be participating in the endorsement process because the party is trying to rig the vote in favor of Kevin Faulconer.
Faulconer, who at one point argued for an endorsement process, now says it would be divisive. Still, his campaign manager says that Faulconer would work to get the endorsement.
This all comes as a new poll is suggesting that voters are nearly split as to whether or not they want to recall Newsom. That poll, done by Emerson College, shows that 42% of voters would vote to keep Newsom, 38% would vote to recall him, with another 14% undecided.
some key dates to know about: A debate that will have the GOP recall candidates facing off against each other in Southern California on Aug. 4. Then that vote for the GOP to endorse a candidate happens virtually on Saturday, Aug. 7. Mail-in ballots go out not long after, the week of Aug. 16. Finally, election day is happening Sept. 14.
Key Dates
- Aug. 16 - First day to vote by mail
- August 30 - Last day to register to vote
- Sept. 14 - Recall election day
California Recall Fast Facts
On July 17, California Secretary of State Shirley Weber released a list of the 41 candidates who qualified to run in the recall election. About 70 candidates initially filed a statement of intent to run with the secretary of state, according to Ballotpedia.
On July 21, Weber signed off on the finalized list of candidates who'll appear on the recall ballot. The number grew to 46, after a judge ruled that candidates should not be required to submit tax forms for a recall election.
The final day for candidates to file paperwork to run in the recall election was July 16.
The final report from the Secretary of State's office, released on June 23, validated 1,719,943 signatures on the recall petition. The recall effort needed 1,495,709 verified signatures to trigger a recall election. Approximately 441,406 signatures were invalidated.
Only 43 people of the more than 1.7 million Californians who signed the recall petition chose to remove their name from the list.
On July 1, Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis finalized the cost of the election at $276 million.
More information on the recall election
Read more ABC10 stories about the recall:
- Newsom signs law regulating law enforcement's social media, including usage of mugshots
- San Diego audit faults real estate deals under Faulconer
- Judge puts Larry Elder on recall ballot, throws out tax return requirement
- California's official recall list is posted. Here's what to expect.
- California Secretary of State randomly draws order names will appear on recall ballot