Katie Porter, famous for grilling opponents, is criticized for demanding a reporter be more ‘pleasant’

By David Wright, CNN

(CNN) — Katie Porter became a national figure among Democrats for her sharp questioning of Trump administration figures, often holding a whiteboard, in House Oversight Committee hearings. The confrontations she sparked often went viral when she posted them online.

That made her recent demand that a local CBS reporter have a “pleasant, positive conversation” with her – and her threat to cut off their interview – all the more noteworthy.

Porter, now running for governor of California, is drawing blowback after threatening to walk out of an interview with CBS News Sacramento. A portion of the interview was posted online and widely shared, even as Porter’s campaign noted she ultimately spoke to the reporter for another 20 minutes.

“What do you say to the 40% of California voters who you’ll need in order to win, who voted for Trump?” reporter Julie Watts begins in the clip. (President Donald Trump won 38% of the vote in California last year.)

“How would I need them in order to win?” Porter shot back, emphasizing her focus on the state’s Democratic voter base. “I feel like this is being unnecessarily argumentative. What is your question?”

Watts pressed on. “We’ve also asked the other candidates, do you think you need any of those 40% of California voters to win? And you’re saying, no, you don’t.”

Porter then cut in, “OK, so, I don’t want to keep doing this. I’m going to call it, thank you.”

Watts continued to argue that Porter’s rivals had answered similar questions, but Porter responded, “I don’t care,” saying that she had “never had to do this before” in cutting off the interview.

“I want to have a pleasant, positive conversation, in which you ask me about every issue on this list. And if every question, you’re going to make up a follow-up question, then we’re never going to get there,” Porter said, referencing policy debates she wanted to discuss.

The moment drew national attention to a still-developing race to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom, a contest former Vice President Kamala Harris considered but ultimately decided not to join.

Porter is a former congresswoman who ran unsuccessfully for US Senate in 2024. She is a former law professor and protege of Sen. Elizabeth Warren.

Former Biden administration Health and Human Services Director Xavier Becerra, one of Porter’s top rivals in the gubernatorial race, responded to clips of the interview picked up by social media, writing, “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.”

And former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa also weighed in, writing that “We need a leader who will solve hard problems and answer simple questions.”

Liberal commentator Mehdi Hasan on X called it a “car crash interview,” while Republican strategist Matt Whitlock wrote, “This Katie Porter crashout is INCREDIBLE.”

California, the largest state in the country, is also among the most Democratic. No Republican has won it at the presidential level since Ronald Reagan in 1988, and in the 2024 campaign, Kamala Harris won her home state by more than 30 points.

However, California’s distinct “top two” primary system – in which the first and second place candidates in a primary advance to the general election, regardless of party – means that two Democrats could face off on the final ballot, incentivizing appeals to independents and Republicans.

Porter, Becerra and Villaraigosa rank as the most prominent declared Democratic candidates, but US Sen. Alex Padilla and billionaire businessman Rick Caruso loom as potential entrants.

Conservative commentator and strategist Steve Hilton, meanwhile, leads among GOP candidates, drawing a meaningful share of the vote in public polls. That raises the prospect of a splintered Democratic field opening a path to the general election ballot for the Republican in the deep-blue state.

The-CNN-Wire
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