Conservatives are putting California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) on blast after a video showed the Democrat crashing into a child amid a basketball game.
Newsom’s misstep came during his week-long foreign trip, where he met with President Xi Jinping and other Chinese officials, as well as visited Israel and spoke with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Video of the incident shows Newsom tripping and taking a child down with him. He then wrapped the kid in a hug and patted his back as they both laughed off the fall.
A spokesperson for Newsom’s office told Fox News the basketball game occurred at a public school in Beijing that he visited to “see farm-to-school and other agricultural science programs in China.”
The video was shared on X by Republican National Committee Research, conservative commentator Sebastian Gorka, and others. On Truth Social, former President Donald Trump posted it as well, commenting only “wow.”
Conservative-leaning outlets such as the New York Post and Fox News ran articles about Newsom plowing into a child during the game. The far-right blog Gateway Pundit took it a step further with its title: “Newsom Plows Over Small Child Then Spanks Him During Basketball Game in China.”
The criticism may have somewhat backfired, as many of the comments in response to the video were positive.
“He handled it well and this makes him seem cool,” replied one user.
“this is a cute video that humanizes him and shows he has some skill too and is good with kids,” wrote someone else.
“Rare Newsome W,” commented another user.
Conservative attacks on Newsom have grown amid speculation that he’s planning a presidential bid—speculation that only grew after his trip was announced.
“Whether he likes it or not, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s trip to China and Israel is widely viewed in the political world as another crucial step in his methodical journey to presidential candidate status,” the Sacramento Bee reported Monday.
Newsom, for his part, has repeatedly rejected the speculation, saying that he would not consider launching a primary challenge against President Joe Biden.
In September, Newsom told MSNBC that “we need to move past this notion that [Biden’s] not going to run,” adding that “there’s been so much wallowing in the last few months, and handwringing in this respect.”
For Democrats still hopeful the nominee won’t be Biden, Newsom said: “Time to move on. Let’s go.”
