A California Republican congressman mockingly defended Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom after photographs emerged of Newsom breaking COVID-19 restrictions to attend a dinner party over the weekend.
Rep. Tom McClintock delivered a speech on the House floor on Wednesday in which he argued Newsom and other residents in California have the right to decide what risks the “nasty bug” poses to their health and to make decisions about how they wish to socialize.
“I rise this morning in defense of Gov. Gavin Newsom, who recently defied his own idiotic COVID edicts as he partied at one of the few restaurants that’s not yet been forced out of business,” McClintock said. “I defend him because he was doing what we once all did in a free society: make our own decisions over what risks we’re willing to run and what cautions we’re willing to take according to our own circumstances to protect our own health.”
.@RepMcClintock: “I rise this morning in defense for Governor Gavin Newsom who recently defied his own idiotic COVID edicts as he partied at one of the few restaurants that’s not yet been forced out of business.” pic.twitter.com/gjaTT0Zk7T
— CSPAN (@cspan) November 19, 2020
Photos obtained by FOX 11 showed Newsom over the weekend breaking his own mandates during a dinner party for a high-powered lobbyist at the French Laundry restaurant in Yountville, California, along with high-level members of the California Medical Association.
Newsom apologized for attending the dinner, calling it a “bad mistake,” and announced that the state would reimpose strict coronavirus lockdowns on 40 counties throughout the state as cases of the virus continue to climb in California and around the country. Officials have also warned that a mandated curfew could be adopted if the virus is not adequately contained.
McClintock, who represents California’s 4th Congressional District, noted the devastating toll that COVID-19 has taken but pointed to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s findings that report that the virus is not nearly deadly enough to mandate restrictions on commerce, transportation, and social gatherings.
“This isn’t the bubonic plague,” McClintock said. “The CDC’s best estimate is that if you’re under 49, your chance for surviving COVID if you get it is 99.92%. Even if you’re over 70, you have a 94.6% rate of recovery. Forty percent who get it don’t even know they have it, and yet, we’ve allowed our officials to ruin our quality of life over it.”
