Billionaire California gubernatorial candidate Tom Steyer got slammed for saying he hasn’t been following state politics closely enough to rate outgoing Gov. Gavin Newsom‘s time in office.
The Democrat sat down for an interview Monday and was asked what grade — A through F — he would give Newsom over his two terms as governor.
Steyer dodged the question and refused to commit to a grade, only saying: “I think that people have come to really appreciate how Gavin stood up for California.”
KCRA 3 reporter Ashley Zavala then asked him again: “You won’t grade him?”
“I haven’t followed it closely enough to give him a grade,” Steyer responded.
The former presidential candidate was showered with criticism for his non-answer.
“So let me get this straight … he is running for governor … spending millions of his own money to get elected … and he wants us to believe he isn’t following the current governor enough to give him a grade?” Adam Housley, former longtime Fox News journalist, wrote on X. “Hell… that disqualifies him immediately.”
“So he wants to be governor of California but has not followed the performance of the current governor of California?” added former CNN journalist Chris Cillizza.
Many were similarly astonished at Steyer not paying closer attention to the top job in the state.
“He’s running for governor, but he hasn’t followed anything his predecessor is doing? This is a fundamentally unserious dork,” one critic wrote on X.
“He’s a billionaire and has no idea what being a Californian is really about. We need a governor of the people and by the people … not a billionaire,” another chimed in.
Others characterized the non-response as was a strategic move.
“There’s no advantage for Steyer in acknowledging the obvious truth, which is that Newsom has not done a good job as governor,” a person wrote.
The California Post contacted Steyer’s campaign for comment.
