Gubernatorial candidate Katie Porter says questions about appealing to Trump voters irritate her

sacramento — Gubernatorial candidate Katie Porter said Friday she mishandled a recent television news interview that raised questions about her character, but explained that she believed the reporter’s questioning suggested she should pander to President Donald Trump’s supporters.

Porter, an outspoken Democrat and former U.S. House representative from Orange County, said she was “rebutting” reporters’ suggestions that she needed to be more politically moderate.

“I think Trump is hurting Californians,” Porter said, speaking at the University of California, Sacramento’s Student and Policy Center. “I’m not going to sell out our values ​​as a state for some short-term political gain to try to appease the people who are still standing and still supporting what this president is doing to trample our Constitution.”

Porter was criticized last week for losing his temper with a CBS reporter and threatening to end the interview. A second video has since emerged showing Porter cursing a young employee walking behind her during a video conference in 2021.

Porter, who spoke as part of the Policy Center’s California Leaders Speaker Series, said she apologized to her staff “in real time.”

“It’s inappropriate,” she said. “I could have done better in that situation, and I know that. I really want my employees to understand that I value them.”

After the video emerged, several of Porter’s rivals criticized her actions, including former state Controller Betty Yee, who said she should drop out of the race.

KQED radio reporter Marisa Lagos, who moderated Friday’s discussion, asked Porter if he thought any pushback would be unfair, especially given Trump’s behavior.

Trump has a long history of belittling or targeting journalists, repeatedly accusing them of being the “enemy of the people” and during the 2016 presidential campaign mocked the appearance of a disabled reporter with a congenital joint disease.

“I would just say that Donald Trump should not be anyone’s standard for anything,” Porter said. “From how to use tanner to how to deal with the media, this is not a benchmark.”

Porter said she will spend the rest of her campaign trying to prove she has the right judgment to serve as governor.

“I think we all know those are short videos that are edited and there’s always a larger context, but the reality is every second of every minute I have a responsibility to think about how to lead California and do the best I can,” she said.

During Friday’s discussion, Porter also expressed her support for Proposition 50, a ballot measure that would change the boundaries of congressional districts and potentially flip five U.S. House seats to Democrats. The measure, which will be on the statewide ballot on Nov. 4, was drafted to offset Texas’ redistricting plans aimed at giving Republicans more seats.

Lagos asked Porter how she would respond to residents who fear they are being disenfranchised, especially those from rural areas.

Porter said she grew up in a rural area and wants rural Californians to feel heard. But she said California is redistricting differently than Texas to give residents a chance to vote.

“This is a question for every Californian about what they want to do in this political moment,” she said. “The situation was one way, we had one policy, but the world has changed — and given that, as a Californian, what do you want to do about it?”

During a question-and-answer session at Friday’s event, a student brought up anti-Semitic legislation and asked Porter for his opinion on whether criticizing Israel counts as anti-Semitism.

Porter said it was a complex issue but criticism of Israel was not necessarily anti-Semitic.

“There are many people in Israel who criticize Israeli policies,” she said. “There are a lot of people around the world who don’t like Donald Trump and have been critical of (the United States). It’s a right to criticize policies.”