California Gov. Gavin Newsom is scheduled to make his first public appearance Tuesday since abruptly going to ground two weeks ago — and only resurfacing to attend the lavish wedding of billionaire oil heiress Ivy Getty over the weekend.
The media-savvy Democrat, 54, hasn’t been seen since he started canceling events due to unspecified “family obligations” in late October.
The unusual hiatus led to a frenzy of criticism of Newsom, who survived an attempt to recall him from office in September.
After days of intense backlash — which led to Newsom’s wife telling critics on Twitter to “stop hating and get a life” — the governor’s office finally announced he was due to attend the California Economic Summit on Tuesday, KABC reports.
It will mark Newsom’s first public appearance since Oct. 27, when he received his COVID-19 vaccine booster shot. The governor’s office denied that his ongoing absence was linked to the vaccine after rumors began to swirl on Twitter.
On Oct. 29, Newsom announced that he was canceling plans to attend the ongoing United Nations Climate Change Conference in Scotland because of “family obligations.”
The father of four was expected to attend virtually, but had yet to make an appearance as the conference draws to a close this week. The governor’s office declined to provide details of what prompted the change of plans.
On Saturday, Newsom reportedly popped up at the San Francisco wedding of oil tycoon J. Paul Getty’s great-granddaughter. The wedding was officiated by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), according to Vogue.
Newsom’s wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, addressed the backlash over his absence in a since-deleted tweet Sunday night: “It’s funny how certain folks can’t handle truth.”
“When someone cancels something, maybe they’re just in the office working; maybe in their free time they’re at home with their family, at their kids’ sports matches, or dining out with their wife. Please stop hating and get a life.”
Newsom’s office told Politico on Monday that the governor spent last week working behind the scenes.
“Last week, Governor Newsom worked in the Capitol with staff on urgent issues including COVID-19 vaccines for kids, boosters, ports, the forthcoming state budget and California’s continued economic recovery,” his spokesperson said.
“He will have public events this week related to the economy and vaccines.”
