California’s likely future governor Xavier Becerra continued his streak of awkward moments with the press — stumbling over a fundraising question and botching the name of a Dem ally in an excruciating interview with a San Francisco news outlet.
asserted
governor → continue → outlet
In the new interview, Garrow asked Becerra if there are any companies he wouldn’t accept money from — alluding to criticism that the former HHS secretary took huge checks from Big Oil and other special interests during the gubernatorial primary campaign.
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secretary → ask → campaign
“Sure,” Becerra responded.
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Becerra → respond → ?
What followed was an agonizing pause, then a small laugh.
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followed → follow → ?
“Such as?” Garrow followed up.
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Garrow → follow → ?
“Name some,” Becerra replied.
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Becerra → name → some
The longtime California Dem said he wouldn’t accept money from Palantir, which has reportedly provided data analytics software and other technology to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
uncertain
which → say → Enforcement
He said he’d be okay with defense contractor Lockheed Martin, however.
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he → say → Martin
There was a back-and-forth about Purdue Pharma, as Becerra shared he had sued the company for allegedly causing the opioid crisis as attorney general.
uncertain
he → be → general
“But would you accept money from them?” Garrow asked.
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Garrow → accept → them
He answered: “I mean if it’s a legitimate business and they’re doing business in a way that isn’t destroying lives — “
“But they sparked the opioid crisis,” she noted.
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she → answer → crisis
“I mean, that’s why you go to jail, if you commit a crime, and you served your time, you get to come out.
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you → mean → time
That doesn’t mean for the rest of your life,” he later said, adding he believed in “redemption” for bad companies.
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he → mean → companies
During the primary race, Becerra caught heat from Democratic rivals for accepting huge corporate donations from the likes of Chevron, which gave his campaign a max contribution of $39,200.
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which → catch → 39,200
To the dismay of environmentalists, the former AG defended the money and said Chevron is “not the bad guy” back in April.
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Chevron → defend → April
The Standard also displayed in a screen grab of Becerra’s endorsement page, which touted his support from “Mayor David Lurie” of San Francisco.
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which → display → Francisco
“What’s your relationship like with David?” Garrow asked.
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Garrow → ’ → David
“Growing,” Becerra responded.
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Becerra → grow → ?
“He’s done a number of important things, amazing things.”
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He → do → things
“Do you think David’s been good for San Francisco?” she continued, using the wrong name.
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she → think → name
“I think San Franciscans would say, on the whole, he has,” the candidate replied without ever correcting her.
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candidate → think → her
The Post viewed the endorsement page late Tuesday, which appears to have fixed the name.
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which → view → name
Though the interview was meant to be a bit, many on social media found the clips hard to watch.
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clips → mean → media
“He doesn’t even know Mayor Daniel Lurie name…
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He → know → name
Hell NO! He won’t catch nothing,” another said.
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another → catch → nothing
In a similar interview with Hilton, The Standard’s Garrow roasted the Republican about his positions on ICE, transgender athletes, the cost of bananas and more.
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Garrow → roast → bananas
Regardless, Becerra’s chances of winning the governor job look like a cakewalk.
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chances → win → cakewalk
About 58% of 4,512 likely voters surveyed from Sept. 15 to 20 said they supported Becerra, a former Health and Human Services secretary under former President Joe Biden, over the 33% who backed Hilton, who is endorsed by President Donald Trump.
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who → survey → Trump
The two candidates are scheduled to meet Wednesday in a nationally televised debate in Burbank hosted by CNN.
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candidates → schedule → CNN
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