Overview

• In footage from a September sit-down with CBS News California’s Julie Watts, Porter tried to remove her mic and said she would not continue the interview “with seven follow-ups to every single question you ask.”
• The questioning focused on what she would say to roughly 40% of Californians who voted for Trump, and Porter replied that in a general election she expected to win the non-Trump vote while noting she has previously won Republican voters.
• Axios reporter Alex Thompson and journalist Yashar Ali posted the clip Tuesday night, and it drew swift online reaction from figures including Ken Calvert, Megyn Kelly, Mehdi Hasan, and Chamath Palihapitiya.
• The interview was part of a broader CBS segment that also explored California redistricting and Proposition 50, an effort linked in reports to Governor Gavin Newsom’s push to expand Democratic House seats.
• The episode lands as Porter seeks the governorship with support from EMILY’s List in a crowded field, and coverage revisited prior staff allegations about her temperament while noting reporters had sought but did not include a campaign response.