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.
I want a candidate that stands for something. Rumor has it Padilla now wants in the race and the Dems would much rather have him. I have zero idea what this guy has done as a senator, aside from his being taken down by ICE and defending Biden’s decision to run. We’re in a crisis, we need a fighter not some get along establishment candidate.
I think we are past the “flawed” candidates issue. Gavin is the only one to potentially beat Trump and Katie would be the best person to take his place.
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.
Awe Jeff. I think you are better than this…..why not stress competence and ability over likability? Isn’t it time to change the conversation?
Imho the interwebs need to be flooded with Katie presenting at her peak moments to mitigate this interview for those that haven’t had the benefit of seeing her at her best. Yeah, maybe she might want to make some sort of statement since this is the world we are in - but for goodness sakes, haven’t we learned anything since Hillary v Trump?
I've met Katie many times and have never had a problem. That said, she's tough and doesn't put up with shit that others "in polite society" might.
I understand that the interview in question actually did continue, but no one is releasing the footage of how the disagreement was resolved. That's the part I'm interested in seeing.
I think the wider issue is that politicians think interviews are supposed to be soft, friendly, and not contentious. The media has contributed to this a lot
Not really - Democrats and especially women are. Republicans are praised for it. It's interesting to see how unafraid media members are to interpret our reactions to Democrats, particularly women, for us.
All I can think about is how long a hired opposition research firm waited and held on to this clip to launch this level of a smear campaign. Clearly, they are shaking in their boots about the possibility of Katie winning.
I also keep thinking about how the media (you included) took the bait.
You *could* have written an entire piece about that. OR how this smear campaign is slathered in misogyny or how patriarchy wins again.
You could have done an entire piece about even in the year of our lord 2025—we continue to hold women to a higher, often unreachable standard that can never be achieved.
You could have done any of the above to lift up who you say is perfect on paper, but instead—you chose to poke holes in her campaign.
I'm a big Katie Porter fan. I've meet her and have worked to get her elected to the House. As governor, I believe she'll be a good leader for California. Unfortunately, Katie Porter missed an opportunity to explain that Prop 50 is a temporary response to the action that Texas already has taken to add 5 more Republicans to the House. Maybe Katie Porter was having a bad day but I think she owes an apology to Reporter Julie Watts. Make the apology and move on.
I like Katy Porter. Sometimes she does have an argumentative demeanor. But, what do you mean Dems are commenting anonymously out of fear? I don’t know any Dems that would be fearful of commenting.
The Dem establishment has never liked her- she won’t fall in line. This feels like the usual whisper campaign to discredit. I’m disappointed by this take Jeff- the viral video is the right making something out of nothing. She sat for another 20 min and answered questions.
The only "fearful" Dems I can think of are other elected officials and maybe those who have worked with or interacted a lot with her. Remember, she was a professor at UCI so there are students, colleagues, and staff, too; therefore, there are those who know her intimately. I met Katie a number of times when she represented Tustin, and it was always a positive experience.
I couldn't even read thru this past the part where you list all the qualities a man can exhibit and be called "strong", but you ended it with saying she's just an asshole.
What a full on misogynistic rant from the typical privileged male who doesn't account for what women, who have been HOLDING MEN UP FOR EONS, go through.
I'm often critical of Jeff's columns because I hold him to a high standard. However, as a lifelong feminist and progressive, I can assure you Jeff is neither a "misogynist" nor a "typical privileged male." You've got this one wrong.
This very short missive regarding Porter certainly says otherwise. If he doesn't want to come off as those two descriptors, he should steer clear of stereotypes regarding women in the future. In my humble opinion.
I Like and LOVE Katie Porter.... GO Katie Porter !!!!
KATIE PORTER FOR GOVERNOR OF BEAUTIFUL LOVING AND INCLUSIVE CALIFORNIA
YES !!!! LFG !!!!
“I’ve only ever been motivated by one thing — making Californians’ lives better. And I’ll go toe to toe with anyone who tries to hurt Californians. Because that’s what it means to have the courage to solve our toughest problems. To build on our progress. To fight for you. That’s the leadership that California deserves.”
I lost respect for her when she decided to run for Senate. I feel it showed arrogance and self-importance on her part. She should have realized that Schiff, a much more experienced leader would be considering running. We needed her in the House. Her decision to leave the House undermined the voice of her constituents.
“Likability” is a vintage find in 2025. Not on my list for candidates in today’s climate. Feeling good about politics/ politicians ended in 2016 for me.
Honestly, Jeff, I have always enjoyed and followed your writing, however, calling Katie Porter, an “asshole“ is a bit over the top. Yes, she may be firm, forceful, and a little bit self-righteous with a small bit of inflated ego, but that doesn’t make someone necessarily an asshole.
My take, is that she was possibly annoyed by all the follow up questions and was more than likely on a clock to move onto the next event of her day. Also, I can see her feeling that each follow up question was a challenge to her which triggered her fight or flight instinct. Beyond her possible irritation or annoyance, I was taken by Watts’ incredible competency, which is something we have not seen in reporters in a very long time.
My guess is that Katie maybe saw that she had met her match, and her instinct was to go on offense. The fact that she stayed and finished the interview, which I also would’ve liked to have seen, tells me that it was a blip in time and has been blown way out of proportion.
Props to Katie for finishing the interview, but more go to Watts for her excellent demeanor and exceptional journalism.
She definitely seems stumped by a pretty easy question. Most of us know a long list of things to say to Republican voters. I thought the reporter held her cool well.
Katie lost me when I read her book. She seemed mean. Definitely full of herself but not with a natural, positive, thoughtful confidence. She does speak truth to power quite bravely and her past white boards prove she cares about us. BUT…
I think a bit of humility, regardless of gender, is a big positive in assessing character. Meanness isn’t good, a quality now rampant in the current administration. Empathy and support for all Americans, including reporters and Republicans, shines through in both Yee and Atkins. They exhibit all the same competence and years of expertise with heart.
It’s done anytime they ask voters, “Which candidate would you rather have a beer with?” Likability is important to voters, and it’s hardly a sexist trope unfairly applied to female candidates.
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.
Agreed!👍 I think she is what we need at this time! She is brilliant, forceful and knows her shit! We need her to fight for us!
I want a candidate that stands for something. Rumor has it Padilla now wants in the race and the Dems would much rather have him. I have zero idea what this guy has done as a senator, aside from his being taken down by ICE and defending Biden’s decision to run. We’re in a crisis, we need a fighter not some get along establishment candidate.
I’m so sick of apologists for fatally flawed candidates.
I think we are past the “flawed” candidates issue. Gavin is the only one to potentially beat Trump and Katie would be the best person to take his place.
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.
Awe Jeff. I think you are better than this…..why not stress competence and ability over likability? Isn’t it time to change the conversation?
Imho the interwebs need to be flooded with Katie presenting at her peak moments to mitigate this interview for those that haven’t had the benefit of seeing her at her best. Yeah, maybe she might want to make some sort of statement since this is the world we are in - but for goodness sakes, haven’t we learned anything since Hillary v Trump?
I've met Katie many times and have never had a problem. That said, she's tough and doesn't put up with shit that others "in polite society" might.
I understand that the interview in question actually did continue, but no one is releasing the footage of how the disagreement was resolved. That's the part I'm interested in seeing.
I think the wider issue is that politicians think interviews are supposed to be soft, friendly, and not contentious. The media has contributed to this a lot
Not really - Democrats and especially women are. Republicans are praised for it. It's interesting to see how unafraid media members are to interpret our reactions to Democrats, particularly women, for us.
All I can think about is how long a hired opposition research firm waited and held on to this clip to launch this level of a smear campaign. Clearly, they are shaking in their boots about the possibility of Katie winning.
I also keep thinking about how the media (you included) took the bait.
You *could* have written an entire piece about that. OR how this smear campaign is slathered in misogyny or how patriarchy wins again.
You could have done an entire piece about even in the year of our lord 2025—we continue to hold women to a higher, often unreachable standard that can never be achieved.
You could have done any of the above to lift up who you say is perfect on paper, but instead—you chose to poke holes in her campaign.
I'm a big Katie Porter fan. I've meet her and have worked to get her elected to the House. As governor, I believe she'll be a good leader for California. Unfortunately, Katie Porter missed an opportunity to explain that Prop 50 is a temporary response to the action that Texas already has taken to add 5 more Republicans to the House. Maybe Katie Porter was having a bad day but I think she owes an apology to Reporter Julie Watts. Make the apology and move on.
I’m with Katie!
I like Katy Porter. Sometimes she does have an argumentative demeanor. But, what do you mean Dems are commenting anonymously out of fear? I don’t know any Dems that would be fearful of commenting.
The Dem establishment has never liked her- she won’t fall in line. This feels like the usual whisper campaign to discredit. I’m disappointed by this take Jeff- the viral video is the right making something out of nothing. She sat for another 20 min and answered questions.
The only "fearful" Dems I can think of are other elected officials and maybe those who have worked with or interacted a lot with her. Remember, she was a professor at UCI so there are students, colleagues, and staff, too; therefore, there are those who know her intimately. I met Katie a number of times when she represented Tustin, and it was always a positive experience.
Um…no one endorsed her for Senate.
Not so, Greg. Democrat Dave Min won her House seat. And she did have endorsements—just not from the party establishment.
Katie
I couldn't even read thru this past the part where you list all the qualities a man can exhibit and be called "strong", but you ended it with saying she's just an asshole.
What a full on misogynistic rant from the typical privileged male who doesn't account for what women, who have been HOLDING MEN UP FOR EONS, go through.
Do better, ffs. Disgusting.
I'm often critical of Jeff's columns because I hold him to a high standard. However, as a lifelong feminist and progressive, I can assure you Jeff is neither a "misogynist" nor a "typical privileged male." You've got this one wrong.
This very short missive regarding Porter certainly says otherwise. If he doesn't want to come off as those two descriptors, he should steer clear of stereotypes regarding women in the future. In my humble opinion.
I Like and LOVE Katie Porter.... GO Katie Porter !!!!
KATIE PORTER FOR GOVERNOR OF BEAUTIFUL LOVING AND INCLUSIVE CALIFORNIA
YES !!!! LFG !!!!
“I’ve only ever been motivated by one thing — making Californians’ lives better. And I’ll go toe to toe with anyone who tries to hurt Californians. Because that’s what it means to have the courage to solve our toughest problems. To build on our progress. To fight for you. That’s the leadership that California deserves.”
Video :
https://youtu.be/3dJwT7V9_TA?si=bBNngS4nvxuobdGD
Donate :
https://katieporter.com/
I lost respect for her when she decided to run for Senate. I feel it showed arrogance and self-importance on her part. She should have realized that Schiff, a much more experienced leader would be considering running. We needed her in the House. Her decision to leave the House undermined the voice of her constituents.
“Likability” is a vintage find in 2025. Not on my list for candidates in today’s climate. Feeling good about politics/ politicians ended in 2016 for me.
Honestly, Jeff, I have always enjoyed and followed your writing, however, calling Katie Porter, an “asshole“ is a bit over the top. Yes, she may be firm, forceful, and a little bit self-righteous with a small bit of inflated ego, but that doesn’t make someone necessarily an asshole.
My take, is that she was possibly annoyed by all the follow up questions and was more than likely on a clock to move onto the next event of her day. Also, I can see her feeling that each follow up question was a challenge to her which triggered her fight or flight instinct. Beyond her possible irritation or annoyance, I was taken by Watts’ incredible competency, which is something we have not seen in reporters in a very long time.
My guess is that Katie maybe saw that she had met her match, and her instinct was to go on offense. The fact that she stayed and finished the interview, which I also would’ve liked to have seen, tells me that it was a blip in time and has been blown way out of proportion.
Props to Katie for finishing the interview, but more go to Watts for her excellent demeanor and exceptional journalism.
She was annoyed because the interview was providing her with an “unhappy experience.” Gimme a break 🙄
That comment in particular struck me as just coming from a tired or hungry person, not an unlikeable or unqualified person.
She definitely seems stumped by a pretty easy question. Most of us know a long list of things to say to Republican voters. I thought the reporter held her cool well.
Katie lost me when I read her book. She seemed mean. Definitely full of herself but not with a natural, positive, thoughtful confidence. She does speak truth to power quite bravely and her past white boards prove she cares about us. BUT…
I think a bit of humility, regardless of gender, is a big positive in assessing character. Meanness isn’t good, a quality now rampant in the current administration. Empathy and support for all Americans, including reporters and Republicans, shines through in both Yee and Atkins. They exhibit all the same competence and years of expertise with heart.
That’s a shit title. When has a title been written using the word “likeable” for a male candidate?
I think her goose is cooked but yours is still a shit title.
It’s done anytime they ask voters, “Which candidate would you rather have a beer with?” Likability is important to voters, and it’s hardly a sexist trope unfairly applied to female candidates.