Former Republican Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee described Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom as “phonier than a vegan at a steakhouse” Thursday after the lawmaker reportedly went to dinner at a fancy French restaurant amid a coronavirus lockdown.
Huckabee joked that at least Newsom “didn’t sing, he didn’t chant and didn’t worship. Those things would have been dangerous,” he told Fox News’ “America’s Newsroom.”
“Simply going and not wearing a mask and yelling with his friends, that’s OK. Look: he is phonier than a vegan at a steakhouse and he just proved it. And that video just undid him,” the Fox News contributor said in reference to images of the dinner.
Newsom recently attended a large indoor dinner at the upscale restaurant The French Laundry in Napa Valley. (RELATED: Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot Wants To Shut Down Thanksgiving But Defends Going To Biden Celebration As A Source Of ‘Relief’)
The dinner occurred after Newsom suggested that Californians even wear face masks “in between bites” when dining at restaurants in order to avoid contact with the COVID-19 virus.
Critics savaged Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s maskless visit to a San Francisco hair salon in late August. She admitted going to the salon but said she had been “set up” to be politically discredited.
Huckabee suggested there was “a fix” to all this apparent hypocrisy.
“If you are a government official and you shut other people’s businesses down, you don’t get paid. Because if they lose their paycheck and you are the one responsible, you don’t get your paycheck,” he said.
“Let’s see how that goes. I’m not being facetious about it. There is no skin in the game of these government officials. They’re making big decisions about the peasants like us who have to live by the rules. But they don’t live by them and they have no consequences.”
Fox News host Trace Gallagher pointed out that the “average tab” for a party dining at The French Laundry is about $1000.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during a news conference at the California Department of Public Health on Feb. 27, 2020 in Sacramento, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
“Yeah, this is not a place where people get their clothes cleaned. Their wallets are cleaned out because it’s that expensive. The average minimum dining experience is $350 per person … This is the hypocrisy,” Huckabee said, suggesting that high-living politicians should “read the stories about the Bolshevik revolution and [French Queen] Marie Antoinette and find what happens when the peasants get it up to hear with that kind of stuff.” (RELATED: ‘Massive Civil Disobedience’: Victor Davis Hanson Predicts Pushback As States Impose More Coronavirus Restrictions)