❓WHAT HAPPENED: Former Representative Katie Porter (D-CA) grew angry and irate, and nearly walked out of an interview when pressed on how she plans to appeal to Trump voters in California.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Katie Porter, journalist Julie Watts of CBS News California Investigates, and California voters.
📍WHEN & WHERE: The exchange occurred last month during an interview with CBS News in California, with the footage of the exchange spreading on social media this week.
💬KEY QUOTE: “I don’t want to keep doing this, I’m going to call it. Thank you.” – Katie Porter
🎯IMPACT: The tense exchange raises questions about Porter’s ability to connect with a broader voter base in her gubernatorial campaign and whether she even has the temperament to govern.
Former Representative Katie Porter (D-CA), considered a front-runner to replace California Governor Gavin Newsom (D), may have seen her campaign end right out of the gate. Among political insiders in Washington, D.C., and California, Porter has long been known for her violent temper and narcissistic attitude, but those traits are now on full public display in an abortive interview with CBS Sacramento reporter Julie Watts in which the California Democrat berates the reporter for asking simple follow-up questions. Filmed last month, the footage of Porter’s meltdown spread across social media this week.
Watts questioned Porter about her stance toward the 6.1 million Californians who voted for President Donald J. Trump in 2024, prompting Porter to respond that she didn’t need their support if running against a Republican in the general election. “How would I need them in order to win, ma’am?” Porter responded, seemingly unhappy with the question but chuckling for the camera, before going on to express certainty that she could pick up the remaining 60 percent of non-Trump votes. “I have stood on my own two feet and won Republican votes before, and that’s not something every candidate in this race can say,” Porter said, referring to her time representing “purple” Orange County.
However, she became visibly irritated when Watts pressed further on her dismissiveness toward Trump voters. Porter stated, “I feel like this is unnecessarily argumentative. What is your question?” At one point, Porter lifts her hands as if to push Watts away.
After Watts explained that similar questions had been posed to other candidates, Porter said she would seek every vote she could win. However, she ended the interview shortly after, stating, “I don’t want to keep doing this. I’m going to call it. I want to have a pleasant, positive conversation.” She also objected to follow-up questions, adding, “I don’t want this all on camera.” Porter then reached for the mic pinned to her lapel and attempted to remove it while castigating Watts’s interview methods.
The Leading CA Democrat attempts to implode her own campaign in one single interview pic.twitter.com/cpVJ2hgnzJ
— OC Scanner 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 (@OC_Scanner) October 7, 2025
Porter is notorious for aggressive and narcissistic outbursts. In an infamous 2020 exchange during a congressional hearing with then-Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Porter became irate when Mnuchin revealed he was unaware of the then-Congresswoman’s law degree. Mnuchin had asked Porter, “Are you a lawyer?” after a series of terse exchanges regarding the Treasury Department‘s funding of Federal Reserve lending facilities.
Even more disturbing, documents filed in Porter’s divorce reveal a litany of claims of spousal abuse by Porter against her ex-husband, Matthew Hoffman. In one instance, Porter allegedly dumped scalding hot potatoes on Hoffman’s scalp.
Porter, who lost her bid for the Senate to Adam Schiff last year, is bidding to become California’s first-ever female governor. On the Republican side, her challengers include Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco and former Fox News host Steve Hilton.
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