Our reporting is free for everyone, but it’s not free to make.
LAist only exists with reader support. If you're in a position to give, your donation powers our reporters and keeps us independent.
White House Press Secretary Was Asked About The Newsom Recall Effort. Her Answer Was... Weird
White House Press Secretary, Jen Psaki, at this morning's briefing. (Screenshot via NBC News/C-SPAN)
At this morning's White House press briefing, a reporter asked press secretary Jen Psaki about where President Biden stands on the effort here in California to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Here's what she said:
"I have not – I have not spoken with the president about the reported – the recall, I should say, or the efforts to recall former Gov. Newsom.
Obviously, he is somebody who he [the president] has been engaged with in the past. They have a range of issues they have common agreement on, from the need to address climate change, to put people back to work, to address the Covid crisis, and you know, we remain closely engaged with him and his office."
Aside from the use of that adjective to describe the very much current governor, the comments were interpreted by some as a less-than-clear endorsement of support for Newsom.
Psaki later tweeted, "the President clearly opposes any effort to recall Gavin Newsom."
In addition to sharing a commitment to a range of issues with @GavinNewsom from addressing the climate crisis to getting the pandemic under control, @POTUS clearly opposes any effort to recall @GavinNewsom
— Jen Psaki (@PressSec) February 9, 2021
Organizers of the recall effort need to collect about 1.5 million valid signatures by March 17 to get on the ballot.
You can watch that the Newsom answer and the rest of the press briefing here:
Our news is free on LAist. To make sure you get our coverage: Sign up for our daily newsletters. To support our nonprofit public service journalism: Donate Now.