The California governor described White House reporters as ‘sycophants’

California Governor Gavin Newsom criticized the media for what he described as overly deferential coverage of Donald Trump, characterizing reporters in Oval Office press briefings as “sycophants.”

The Democratic governor — widely seen as a potential contender for the 2028 presidential race — made the remarks during a Sunday interview with progressive commentator Jack Cocchiarella.

Cocchiarella pressed Newsom on what he framed as “hesitancy” within the White House press corps to scrutinize certain subjects: namely, the 80-year-old president’s health.

“You see these press conferences in the Oval Office,” the governor replied. “You maybe have one or two reasonable reporters. They ask a question; there’s no chance for a follow-up. And then it’s seven sycophants from news outlets.”

  • sportsjorts@lemmy.zip
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    11 days ago

    I’ll do what I always do watch the Dem establishment shit all over everything while I hold my nose and vote for a shit stain like newsowm. There’s plenty of time for a “lefty” candidate to rise as long as the DNC fucks off to hell.

    • lennybird@lemmy.world
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      11 days ago

      I’ll be shocked if AOC runs for president and not against Schumer.

      If she doesn’t then just vote Michelle Obama in, as there’s really nobody else I can think of in a position to run by then. Not a leftist at least in the surface but she’d win in a landslide. Easily. And I’d prefer her over someone like Newsom or Shapiro…

      • MartianRecon@lemmus.org
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        11 days ago

        She’ll go for Schumers seat. The Democrats need a dude to run against the republican. Shooting yourself in the foot by having a woman run is not worth the risk to the fate of the country. The handicap from the sexist assholes is just too great to overcome.

        That’s the frank games theory we’ve proven this decade.

        • lennybird@lemmy.world
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          11 days ago

          I think it has been debunked that a woman or person of color is why we lost. Key to note: Anyone who was a true sexist racist piece of shit was already core maga and never, ever going to vote for any Democrat.

          People must remember that nobody has polled higher against Trump – ever – than Michelle Obama. IF she wants to run (and a big if), she would win. Just need a tad bit more charisma.

          (If anyone has any evidence whatsoever beyond speculation or shoddy N=2 statistics, I’m all ears, but I have not found evidence).

          • edible_funk@lemmy.world
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            10 days ago

            When was that debunked? How? If you genuinely think misogyny and misogynoir weren’t part of why Hillary and Kamala lost then I’ve got a bridge to sell you.

            • lennybird@lemmy.world
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              10 days ago

              Go ahead and sell me that bridge because there is a complete and total lack of evidence to support the claim. Can’t really prove a counterfactual. Others made the claim she lost because of this; when asked for evidence, they always come up short.

              Counterpoints:

              • Biden polled worse than Harris at the end. (White Guy polling worse than Black Woman). Hence the switch in the first place, even Biden agreed!

              • Michelle Obama has always polled higher than anyone against Trump (Black Woman polling better than White Guy).

              Sexists bigots were already core Republican voters never voting for any D no matter who. The battle was lost elsewhere.

              • edible_funk@lemmy.world
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                10 days ago

                Oh so you’re just operating under the assumption that nobody who would otherwise vote for a democrat is sexist or racist in one of the most overtly provably sexist and racist countries on earth. But go ahead and claim that racism and misogyny aren’t incredibly relevant factors in every election. There are more undecided/moderate/non voters that are racist and misogynistic than there are republicans. It’s fucking stupid to pretend that wasn’t a factor. Don’t be fucking stupid.

                • lennybird@lemmy.world
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                  10 days ago

                  Still no evidence, and an increased propensity for aggression and ad hominems substituting said total lack of evidence, I see. Lots of fingers-in-ear denial and deflection as well.

                  Certainly aren’t convincing me of anything, lol.

                  I win.

                  • edible_funk@lemmy.world
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                    10 days ago

                    Like a pigeon playing chess you knock over the pieces, shit all over the board and think you won. Good job pigeon.

          • MartianRecon@lemmus.org
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            11 days ago

            Uh dude like more than 5% of the party didn’t show up, and a bunch of male Democrats that identify as Latin or African American didn’t vote for her because she was a woman.

            Both Kamala and Clinton were two of the most qualified people to have run for president, and they were fucking beaten by the worst candidate in the history of politics.

            I don’t want to risk it.

            • lennybird@lemmy.world
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              11 days ago

              and a bunch of male Democrats that identify as Latin or African American didn’t vote for her because she was a woman.

              Uh, dude show me your evidence this was the reason lol.

              I’m going to give you a hint: You won’t find it. This is straight up bull fucking shit and 100% speculative.

              I highly advise you not to make such blatant non-sequitur fallacies devoid of any supportive data. I can think of at least a half a dozen other reasons for why people voted or didn’t vote the way they did that actually has data with infinitely less distance to connect the dots than what you’re doing right now.

              • CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world
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                11 days ago

                We don’t know the why, but it was a big swing among men of color:

                https://navigatorresearch.org/2024-post-election-survey-racial-analysis-of-2024-election-results/

                The largest shifts in support were seen among men, particularly men of color. Donald Trump won the vote of Hispanic men by one point (49 percent Harris – 50 percent Trump), a 35-point difference from 2020, when Joe Biden won the vote of Hispanic men by a 34-point margin. Similarly, there was a 35-point difference in how Black men voted in 2024 compared to 2020. While Black men voted for Harris in 2024 by a 47-point margin (71 percent Harris – 24 percent Trump), it was significantly less than Biden who won the vote of Black men by an 82-point margin over Trump in 2020. White men also moved toward Trump by 5 points (net +23; 37 percent Harris – 60 percent Trump), compared to his margin of 18 points in 2020 (40 percent Harris – 58 percent Trump).

                Without some very careful probing via polls, getting to the why is going to be harder, most likely. Not too many people are just going to be absolutely candid about being sexist.