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Gov. Newsom Makes 1st Public Appearance In Nearly 2 Weeks At Economic Summit

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom made his first public appearance in two weeks after speculation grew over why he withdrew for an extended period of time.

The governor participated in a fireside chat at the 2021 California Economic Summit in Monterey Tuesday morning.

It came after he abruptly canceled his trip to the United Nations climate change summit in Scotland last month over what his office characterized as "family obligations."

Speaking briefly about his absence at the summit, Newsom said it was important to his children that he be home for Halloween.

"They said they couldn't believe I was going to miss Halloween," Newsom said.

Newsom also urged Californians who are eligible to get the COVID-19 booster shot, noting that he felt "fine" after getting his vaccine.

There had been some speculation in right-wing media that Newsom had a reaction to the booster shot, since his last public appearance was him getting the vaccine on Oct. 27.

Political experts said the governor's withdrawal from such a big stage like the UN conference was bound to generate a lot of questions.

"Even after the governor returns, you can bet people are going to want some kind of answers as to where the Governor's been," said CBS13's political analyst Gary Dietrich.

Over the weekend, the First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom tweeted then promptly deleted a comment about the family situation.

"When someone cancels something, maybe they're just in the office working; maybe in their free time, they're at home with their family, at their kids' sports matches, or dining out with their wife. Please stop hating and get a life," she wrote.

Vogue also reported that Newsom was at a wedding for the great-granddaughter of J. Paul Getty in San Francisco over the weekend. A spokesman for the governor says that wedding was not why he canceled his trip.

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