California gubernatorial hopeful Katie Porter snapped and tried to storm out of an interview after being asked a simple question about President Trump — with the Democrat raging “I don’t want this all on camera.”
The irritated ex-California Rep. — who once allegedly dumped steaming mashed potatoes on her then-hubby’s head — was recorded trying to pull the plug on the sit-down with a CBS reporter last month.
Leaked footage of the bizarre encounter, which only surfaced Tuesday, captured Porter flipping out when the reporter asked how she planned to win Republican votes as she tries to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom.
“What do you say to the 40% of California voters, who you’ll need in order to win, who voted for Trump?” the reporter, Julie Watts, asked.
After a brief back-and-forth where a testy Porter insisted she could build support and would seek every vote possible, the Democrat suddenly cracked.
“I feel like this is unnecessarily argumentative. What is your question?” Porter snapped.
The reporter responded, “Every other candidate has answered this question. This is not argumentative.”
When the question was repeated, Porter could be seen trying to take her microphone off.
“I don’t want to keep doing this. I’m going to call it,” Porter said.
“I want to have a pleasant, positive conversation… And if every question you’re going to make up a follow-up question, then we’re never going to get there.”
“I don’t want this all on camera,” she later added.
Porter then sniped, “I’ve never had to do this before,” claiming that she’s never had to cut off an interview.
Some critics pointed to that as evidence that she hasn’t had an adversarial interview before. During her days in Congress, asking trap questions during hearings in search of viral moments was Porter’s specialty.
After the footage started spreading on social media, Porter’s campaign said the interview — which was recorded last month — continued for an additional 20 minutes.
It wasn’t immediately clear if, or when, it was set to air in full.
Porter, who launched her gubernatorial campaign in March, has previously been hit with claims she bullied staffers.
Her ex-husband, Matthew Hoffman, also alleged in their divorce proceedings that she frequently abused him verbally and threw “toys, books and other objects” at him during their marriage — even once pouring scalding-hot mashed potatoes on his head during a fight.
Prior to her epic implosion with CBS, Porter had been the clear frontrunner in the California gubernatorial race, with a 7-point lead over her rivals, according to the latest RealClearPolitics aggregate.
Her Democratic primary foes quickly pounced on the meltdown.
“This is a pattern for [Katie Porter]. No candidate for Governor should hide from the press or mistreat them — we owe it to the public to be transparent,” state superintendent Tony Thurmond jabbed. “If she can’t answer basic questions from a reporter, how can Californians expect her to stand up to President Trump?”
Former California state Speaker Antonio Villaraigos said, “We need a leader who will solve hard problems and answer simple questions.”
“I’m not interested in excluding any vote. Every Californian deserves affordable health care, safe streets, a roof over their head and a living wage,” former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra chided.
Incumbent Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) is term-limited and former Vice President Kamala Harris has passed on a gubernatorial run, leaving the field wide open.
Porter served in the House of Representatives from 2019 to January 2025. Last year, she was bested by Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) in the nasty primary for US Senate.
Following her defeat, Porter implied that the election was rigged.
“Because of you, we had the establishment running scared — withstanding 3 to 1 in TV spending and an onslaught of billionaires spending millions to rig this election,” she grumbled to her supporters afterwards.
She then attempted to walk it back, saying, “‘rigged’ means manipulated by dishonest means.”
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