![Carolla pressed Newsom about his COVID lockdowns. [Screenshot/X/adamcarolla]](https://images.dailycaller.com/image/width=960,height=411,fit=cover,f=auto/https://cdn01.dailycaller.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/IMG_8701-e1719682122586.jpeg "Carolla pressed Newsom about his COVID lockdowns. [Screenshot/X/adamcarolla]")
Comedian Adam Carolla caught Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom off guard with a COVID question Thursday during a NewsNation panel discussion before the first 2024 presidential debate.
Newsom notoriously jetted off to Mexico with his family after signing an executive order in November 2021 to extend his state’s COVID-19 emergency rules first instated in March 2020. Carolla went for the jugular when he came at the California governor with an unanticipated line of questioning regarding his COVID-19 pandemic mandates.
“Governor, why did you shut the beaches in California during COVID?” Carolla asked.
“Yeah, I think we all were working on information at the time,” Newsom said. “Uh, we had no basis of deeply understanding, uh, the virus. I think—”
“So, you didn’t know anything. So why did you shut the beaches?” Carolla interrupted as Newsom continued to talk.
“— I think they did the same thing, the same thing in other states like Florida,” Newsom continued.
“If you didn’t know anything, then why did you shut the beaches?” Carolla asked.
“Well, we didn’t know that because people were concerned early in the pandemic,” Newsom said. “Information was coming out as relating to how it was transferred, uh, the disease. People were cautious. Trying to keep people alive. And I should say this—”
“You didn’t let them go in the sunshine and get Vitamin D and exercise. So, you shouldn’t have shut the beaches, okay,” Carolla interjected. “And you arrested a guy who was paddle-boarding on the bay.”
Gavin Newsom – a man whose policies are so bad he can’t even defend them. pic.twitter.com/RjN4Uf2JMT
— Adam Carolla (@adamcarolla) June 29, 2024
Newsom’s stay-at-home order resulted in many California beach closures at the height of the pandemic. One paddle-boarder was arrested at a Malibu beach in April 2020 for refusing to vacate the water, which he occupied alone until authorities came to remove him. (RELATED: Analysis: Inside Gavin Newsom’s Attempt To Keep The Pandemic, And His Power, Alive)
Newsom’s COVID social distancing guidelines specified that gatherings post a high risk for COVID-19 transmission. Despite this, the California governor was spotted flouting his own rules by attending a dinner party consisting of well over the recommended three household-person limit in November 2020.
“So, um, health, wealth, and—” Newsom began before pausing for a moment.
Newsom grinned before saying “we’re all geniuses” as Carolla relentlessly asked why Newsom “shut down outdoor dining.” Ignoring Carolla, the California governor, who now appeared as the only face on screen, said, “Good to see you, Adam” as the comedian could be heard pressing Newsom in the background.
Carolla said Wednesday that he plans to leave “horrible” California during an appearance on “The Sage Steele Show.” The comedian lamented the “recent downturn in L.A.” while railing against a “sociopathic” Newsom.
