California Governor Accidentally Refers to His Constituents as ‘Peasants’

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California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday unwittingly referred to residents of his state as “peasants” due to a translation snafu.

The message: In a Spanish-language post to his official Facebook account, Newsom informed Californians that his administration is committed to “equity” in the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines.

  • “We’re focused on vaccinating our food workers, farmers, peasants and our essential workers as quickly as possible,” said Newsom, a Democrat, according to Facebook’s auto-translation of his statement to English.

The reaction: Conservative commentators quickly highlighted the wonky translation, playing up perceptions of Newsom as an elitist and imperious leader.

Liberal lawyer Ken White joined the right in recollecting the governor’s infamous November visit to The French Laundry, a hyper-exclusive Napa Valley restaurant, in defiance of his own strict COVID-19 guidelines.

Later on Tuesday, Facebook updated its translation of Newsom’s post so that the Spanish word “campesinos” read “farm workers” instead of “peasants.”

The context: Newsom has been waging an aggressive campaign to promote COVID-19 vaccinations in California.

  • Widespread complaints about the convoluted vaccine rollout have fueled a sort of peasant’s revolt in the form of a growing effort to recall Newsom from office.

The situation Newsom has grown dire enough that the White House felt compelled to weigh in on Monday, with press secretary Jen Psaki tweeting that President Joe Biden “clearly opposes any effort to recall [Newsom].”

By We'll Do It Live