In a desperate attempt to salvage his image of being a tyrant to Californians over the pandemic, Governor Gavin Newsom has finally deigned to admit fault for his state’s actions in the face of the pandemic.
In an interview with Chuck Todd, the governor proclaimed his newfound but undoubtedly shallow “humility” with regards to the coronavirus pandemic.
Todd highlighted a string of criticisms against the governor and the California government from an article in Harper’s Magazine – that while movie production was allowed to continue unrestricted during a number of lockdowns, public gatherings in worship and funerals were not. When Todd asked Newsom to respond, he resorted to the same shallow “humility” and sweeping admissions of collective ignorance. However, he completely failed to mention the people who had been censored or de-platformed for pointing out errors on the government’s response early on in the pandemic – blowing the issue out of the water had it not been for overlooked ideological issues.
Newsom’s response was a bunch of vague notions and no concrete examples when asked what he would have done differently, such as a better understanding of the outdoor vs. indoor transmission issue, and different mask guidelines like N95s or KN95s. He further blamed the politicization of health – even though it was the politicians who had politicized it first by implementing policies without taking into account criticism which could have alleviated the situation much earlier.
It appears Newsom is trying to salvage his image, and not truly take responsibility for his state’s response. Given what scientists knew back then, there seems to have been a missing link in the equation which is wholly down to the failure of this government – and their haphazard approach to this crisis has been mocked and ridiculed by the public. The lack of proper and effective communication has cost lives, and Newsom’s attempt at rehabilitating himself just doesn’t cut it.