Newsom admits Covid regrets

California's governor told CNN he regrets how far some pandemic restrictions went. He made the admission while fishing in Montana with Jake Tapper.

Won't run if Harris does

Newsom said he'll stay out of the 2028 presidential race if former Vice President Kamala Harris decides to run.

Beach closures were insane

Newsom called closing California beaches during Covid 'insane in hindsight,' though he noted Florida's Ron DeSantis initially did the same.

“The idea that we closed beaches was insane in hindsight”

LA schools stayed closed too long

The governor specifically regrets that Los Angeles Unified School District refused to reopen when other districts did.

“Obviously, the schools taking too long. A lot of districts were open, but the big ones weren't. LA refused, and I regret that.”

California led the nation's lockdowns

Newsom issued America's first statewide stay-at-home order in March 2020. Most restrictions remained until June 2021.

Remote learning hurt vulnerable kids most

Distance learning disproportionately harmed low-income students and those with disabilities. Math and reading scores plummeted and haven't fully recovered.

French Laundry dinner was stupid

Newsom called his November 2020 dinner at an exclusive Napa restaurant a 'boneheaded decision' while he urged Californians to stay home.

“Just boneheaded decision, just stupid decision”

Recall effort nearly succeeded

His restrictions fueled a Republican recall campaign in 2021. Newsom said he 'almost lost' and learned humility from the experience.

“I got recalled. I mean, I almost lost. You know, talk about humility. Come on.”

Billions lost to unemployment fraud

Critics say Newsom hasn't addressed the tens of billions paid out in fraudulent unemployment claims through state-issued debit cards during the pandemic.

Rewriting history for 2028

Political consultants accuse Newsom of trying to soften his pandemic record ahead of a presidential run. Republicans say Californians complained about restrictions at the time.

“Californians were telling Newsom these restrictions went too far while he was imposing them”