Update: Following PJ Media’s report on California Gov. Gavin Newsom attending a wine tasting event while Los Angeles descended into anti-ICE rioting, Newsom’s office has issued a defensive response, but it raises more questions than it answers.
Brandon Richards, the Deputy Director for Rapid Response for the governor, pushed back hard on the article, insisting, “Let’s get the facts straight: this was a cancer research fundraiser — not a ‘wine party.’” According to Richards, the event at Odette Estate Winery — complete with live jazz, curated wines, and gourmet food — was “an annual fundraiser benefiting the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, in honor of his mother, who died of breast cancer at age 55.”
No one disputes the importance of cancer research, nor the tragic loss of Newsom’s mother. However, holding a posh vineyard affair while law enforcement officers in your state were being attacked and neighborhoods were on edge is a choice — and it’s one that reflects Newsom’s chronic detachment from the crises facing ordinary Californians.
Rather than address the optics — or the reality — of his absence during a public emergency, Richards deflected by taking swipes at President Donald Trump, saying, “While Donald Trump was golfing in Bedminster the same day, attending a UFC fight, and his White House senior team was literally posting about shopping for popcorn, the Governor proudly attended [the fundraiser].”
I guess Newsom’s office can’t decide whether it wanted Trump to handle the situation or not because Trump’s schedule shouldn’t matter. Newsom is the chief executive of California. Trump’s job isn’t to micromanage all the states. The sad fact is that Newsom was asleep at the wheel in his own state, which put Trump in the position to take action.
Richards also flatly denied the facts on the ground in Los Angeles: “There were no widespread ‘riots breaking out’ in Los Angeles at the time of the daytime cancer fundraiser on Saturday.” But eyewitness reports, emergency calls, and viral footage told a very different story — a city in chaos beginning the night of June 6, escalating into the weekend, and requiring National Guard intervention that President Trump authorized.
To top it off, Richards, who has preferred pronouns in his email signature, bizarrely pointed fingers at other officials, saying that the “unrest was heightened later in the week when Trump and J.D. Vance were enjoying a fancy Broadway show and Defense Secretary Pete [Hegseth] was caught at a baseball game.” None of the people that Richards pointed to are the governor of California.
Here’s the reality: Californians expect their governor to lead in a crisis, not vanish to wine country and then deflect blame onto federal leaders he didn’t even want involved. That’s not leadership. It’s evasion, dressed up in Chardonnay and wrapped in sanctimony.
Original Article: California Gov. Gavin Newsom has once again proven that when crisis strikes, his first instinct is to prioritize his own comfort over the safety and security of the people he's supposed to serve. Los Angeles erupted in anti-ICE riots on June 7, with rioters barricading streets, torching vehicles, and attacking law enforcement officers. But at a time when leadership was desperately needed, Newsom was nowhere to be found.
This latest display of tone-deaf failed leadership perfectly encapsulates everything wrong with Newsom's approach to governing the Golden State. Here's a politician who has spent decades helping Democrats systematically destroy California, and when crisis strikes, his instinct is to retreat to his elite bubble rather than confront the consequences of his failed policies. The pattern is unmistakable and deeply troubling for anyone who still believes in accountable governance.
While his state's largest city burned, Newsom was spotted at his own Odette Estate Winery for a fancy wine tasting.
The wine-tasting was held on the afternoon of June 7, 2025, at the Odette Estate Winery, which Newsom co-founded in 2011. Dubbed “Vineyard Vibes,” the event was a fundraiser for the PlumpJack Foundation, founded by Newsom’s sister, and featured “contemporary yet sophisticated” wines, live jazz music, and locally made pizza and smash burgers. “It’s the perfect kick-off to summer fun,” read promotional language. “The fete will take place on the Winery Crushpad, where we’ll gather for music, food, conversation, and delicious wine!”
A source who photographed Newsom at the event expressed shock that the governor was in attendance, given that riots had broken out in Los Angeles the day before. “I couldn’t believe it,” the source said. “He was just walking around like this was an everyday occurrence.” Newsom was at the wine party for at least 90 minutes, according to the source, who said that when the governor finally left, he appeared to retreat to the inner rooms of his winery.
The riots that broke out on June 6 over Trump’s tough stance on illegal immigration quickly spiraled into chaos: arson, looting, and violent attacks on law enforcement. As the Democrat governor looked the other way, President Trump stepped up and did what needed to be done — authorizing 2,000 National Guard troops to restore order and stop the lawlessness that Newsom wouldn’t.
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Sadly, this isn’t new behavior for Newsom. During the COVID pandemic, he locked down his state with draconian restrictions, even having beachgoers arrested for daring to enjoy the outdoors, while he himself violated his own rules at intimate gatherings at trendy spots like the French Laundry restaurant. He’s not one to let anything get in the way of the upper-class lifestyle he feels entitled to.
Newsom's office scrambled to defend his actions, claiming this was a "cancer research fundraiser" in honor of his late mother. While honoring his mother's memory is certainly admirable, the timing reveals everything about Newsom's warped sense of priorities. For someone who clearly intends to run for president, his political instincts are terrible.
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