Katie Porter responds to viral videos amid California governor’s race, admits she “could have done better”

California gubernatorial candidate Katie Porter is trying to unwind the impact of widely viewed videos showing her nearly cutting off a CBS News interview and cursing at a former staff member.  

Porter broke her silence a full week after the videos went viral. She spoke at an online California Working Families Party forum and addressed the clips that drew widespread attention to her campaign.

“When I see those videos, I know, and I want people to know that I absolutely could have done better,” Porter said. “I absolutely understand that I could have been better in those moments. I’m going to hold myself to that standard.”

Jane Kim is the state director for the California Working Families Party.

“I thought the congresswoman gave a great response last night,” Kim said on Thursday. “I think the big question, of course, is moving forward, are we going to see a version of the congresswoman that is treating her colleague and members of her team with respect?”

The first clip showed Porter abruptly announcing she was cutting off an interview with CBS California Investigates correspondent Julie Watts due to frustration over follow-up questions. While Porter called the interaction “unnecessarily argumentative,” she did eventually continue the interview.

The Porter interview was part of a larger piece where all candidates in the governor’s race shared where they stand on redistricting and Proposition 50. After it aired, Politico released a video showing Porter, a former U.S. House member, yelling at a staffer in 2021.

Republican strategist and crisis management expert Doug Elmets said that Porter’s first attempt at explaining herself fell flat. 

“She never addresses the pattern of behavior,” Elmets said. “Voters want authenticity. They want somebody who is genuinely accountable and not somebody who is rehearsing carefully tested talking points and that’s what I think you really got in her response.”