Conservative radio talk show host Larry Elder slammed California Governor Gavin Newsom as ‘anti-science’ for requiring masks despite widespread vaccination in the state.
Elder, who is among several Republican candidates vying to replace Newsom as governor in next month’s special recall election, told supporters in Pacific Palisades on Saturday that he’s making a run for the top job in Sacramento despite the difficult odds.
‘If not you, who? If not now, when? So I’m in it to win it,’ Elder told a crowd of supporters.
‘Where do I start about the job this man, Gavin Newsom, has done in the last two years?’ he says, listing a litany of policies that he believes were damaging to the state.
Conservative radio talk show host Larry Elder (left) slammed California Governor Gavin Newsom (right) as ‘anti-science’ for requiring masks despite widespread vaccination in the state
‘He slams down the state of California in a way that is more severe than any of the other 49 governors.’
Elder accused Newsom of ‘ignoring science’ by reinstituting a mask mandate and COVID testing for state workers despite the mass vaccination efforts.
Reopen California's Schools and another group called Let Them Breathe have sued over the mandate.
The CDC is recommending a mask mandate for kids because they cannot be vaccinated.
States are yet to react to it. Newsom is the only governor who is imposing a mask mandate across all public schools, with no wiggle room for localities.
Elder also noted that Newsom’s ‘own kids were enjoying in-person, private education’ while public school children were forced to learn virtually during the recent school year.
Last week, Newsom was dubbed a COVID hypocrite again after enforcing a mask mandate for kids in schools while allowing his own son and daughter to attend a basketball camp which doesn't enforce face coverings.
Gavin Newsom has pulled his son Hunter, 10, (left) and daughter Montana, out of their summer camp after the camp posted this photo of Hunter without a face covering on
Now, Newsom has pulled both Hunter and his older sister Montana out of the camp and his team said he 'missed' the email which stated the kids wouldn't have to wear masks.
This is the guidance the camp issued before kids arrived on Monday. It says masks would not be required. The Newsoms say they 'missed' it and only realized after seeing the photo of Hunter online
Parents were also asked to sign a waiver for their kids which said they wouldn't hold the club responsible if the kids got COVID-19. It's unclear if Newsom or his wife signed it for Hunter and Montana
Newsom introduced a statewide mask mandate on July 9 for kids at schools that means all teachers and students must wear masks indoors.
It is being widely criticized by parents who say they should decide if their kid wears a mask or not, and two advocacy groups have already filed a lawsuit against the state to fight it.
On Monday, a photo of Newsom's 10-year-old son Hunter and a group of other kids appeared on the Facebook page of his $200-a-week summer basketball day camp in which none of them were wearing masks.
The camp does not enforce masks, but it says kids and staff are welcome to wear one if they wish to.
Anti-lockdown campaigners said it proved Newsom's hypocrisy that his kids could go maskless while others were to be forced to wear them in schools, rather than being given a choice.
Now, Newsom has pulled both Hunter and his older sister Montana out of the camp and his team say he 'missed' the email which stated the kids wouldn't have to wear masks.
Critics say it's 'heartbreaking' Hunter and Montana will now miss out and that they ought to be allowed to remain in camp with their friends, choosing whether or not to wear masks.
They also say the kids are having to pay the price of their father's political games.
Newsom is seen at The French Laundry in November (far left) amid a large, maskless crowd, when he was asking Californians not to socialize in groups outside their families
Elder also noted the 'French Laundry' scandal - a reference to the restaurant where Newsom was photographed with prominent lobbyists.
Last year, at the height of California's COVID disaster when people were being told to stay at home and only mix with immediate family, Newsom was photographed at the private dinner with ten other people in the exclusive restaurant.
At the time, he said he didn't know there were going to be so many people there, and issued a statement saying: 'We're all human'.
'He incurred a $12,000 wine tab,' Elder told his supporters. 'That’s just for the wine.'
He added: 'He was sitting with the very same lobbyists and medical professionals who drafted the mandates they were violating by not wearing masks and by not socially distancing.
'It’s hypocrisy.'
Elder also hit out at Newsom for 'still paying people not to work.'
'This guy slammed down the hopes and dreams of countless Californians who lost businesses,' Elder said of the governor's oft-criticized lockdown policies.
California, like most states, have seen an uptick in the number of newly diagnosed coronavirus cases in recent weeks
