Why Did California Gov. Newsom Disappear For Two Weeks? Here's What We Know

California's Gov. Gavin Newsom is set to return to the spotlight later today after an unexplained two-week absence from public events that raised conspiracy theory speculations from his critics and an angry pushback from his wife.

What Happened: Newsom’s last public appearance to date was an Oct. 27 photo opportunity where he received a COVID-19 booster shot. He was scheduled to attend the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Scotland, but his office announced on Oct. 29 he was canceling his trip due to unspecified “family obligations.”

Although Newsom showed up on his social media pages with a Nov. 1 Instagram photograph with his family in Halloween costumes and in a Nov. 4 tweeted video extending best wishes for the Diwali holiday celebration, the governor avoided public events. He was spotted in the background of a Vogue magazine photograph of Saturday’s wedding in San Francisco of heiress Ivy Getty to photographer Tobias Alexander Engel.

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What Happened Next: Newsom’s absence began to stir questions on Twitter TWTR from conservative commentators, including unsubstantiated rumors that he developed Bell’s Palsy after receiving his booster shot.

According to a New York Post report, California’s First Lady Jennifer Siebel Newsom became irritated by the conspiracy theories and put out an angry tweet designed to shut down the talk.

“It’s funny how certain folks can’t handle truth,” Newsom tweeted on Sunday night. “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.”  

The tweet was later deleted, and last night Newsom’s office announced he would appear at the 2021 California Economic Summit in Monterey on Tuesday and would appear in additional events later in the week related to the economy and the COVID vaccines.

As for his disappearance from public view, Newsom’s office issued a statement that insisted he was “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.”

Photo: Gage Skidmore / Flickr Creative Commons