Katie Porter has a likability problem
The problem: She's not likable.
So, on paper, I’m a Katie Porter fan. She’s liberal, she’s tough, she ran and won in Orange County, she doesn’t cower or take shit.
Again: On paper, I’m a fan.
But there’s a pretty big problem with Porter The Candidate, who’s making a run to replace Gavin Newsom as California’s governor, and it’s this: Nobody likes her.
When I say “nobody,” eh—I pretty much mean nobody. In the course of running this site, I’ve had, oh, 100 chats with various folks about Porter, and I have yet to meet someone who knows her and raves, “Oh, yeah—Katie is awesome.” Nope, it’s the opposite. Out of fear, people speak anonymously, or quietly, or off the record. But, without fail, people find her to be rude, brash, argumentative and, well, sort of a festering asshole.
And, on occasion, one can hide asshole-ness. By many accounts, Lyndon Johnson was a tremendous asshole. Certainly a good number of people found Barack Obama to be an asshole in the haughty way. But those guys hid it well enough that it didn’t spread to the general population.
Porter, however, oozes it. Which leads me to this video, where she sat down with CBS’ Julie Watts and just fucked it all to little bits of shit corn …
Nothing (literally nothing) asked by Watts was wrong, wrongheaded, or rude. She had legitimate questions, trailed by legitimate follow-ups. This is what it is to be a good reporter. You listen, digest, ponder, then fire off replies based upon what was stated.
Porter, however, is an asshole. She was disrespectful and defensive; hell, almost Trump-like in her rudeness.
I suspect, in the coming days, she will offer an apology to Watts.
She certainly owes her one.
This is fascinating. This vibe is exactly what's working for Pritzker or Gavin. Of course, we all know the gendered dynamics of this. I think the public wants someone who is a fighter and will push back against the media. An issue will be that I don't think we've seen a female candidate do this successfully. Arguably AOC - but she's young and comes across to many as 'cute' and thus unthreatening. Can you think of a female state or national politician who has been able to come across as angry and stayed likable?
In terms of this interview, it's poorly lit and she looks tired. We also don't know what came before it. Anyway, she is a swim mom and my kids cub scout leader, and was among the friendliest, nicest, most approachable people around. She's very "real" in a way that few in OC are. She is very funny and honest and straightforward. Maybe figuring out how to have that part of her personality work in TV interviews is the challenge.
She may not be likable but she seems competent. Our current leadership is neither.
I don’t think the interview is something we should melt down over, I watched it and don’t understand why this would be viral. In our current climate it’s a nothing burger, the double standard for Dems is ridiculous . We can’t call for someone to fight back and then when they do we say that person isn’t likable. I want someone who will fight for me, Katie has done that.