Newsom's admission that infamous COVID move was 'insane' triggers viral fury: 'We all told you'

By Fox News · Fox News

Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom generated fierce online backlash after admitting the state's decision to close beaches amid the COVID-19 pandemic was "insane in hindsight" during an interview with CNN's Jake Tapper released this month. "Look, everyone's a genius in hindsight, so, you know, coulda, woulda," Newsom told Tapper while fly-fishing in a Montana river. When asked what he would have done differently, Newsom said people initially treated the pandemic like a "Purell-based crisis," spending too much time on hand sanitizer shortages and price gouging instead of the virus. He added the beach closures are one of several decisions he regrets. ‘COVID 2.0’: LAWMAKERS PUSH BACK ON SWEEPING HEALTH 'POLICE POWER' IN KEY BATTLEGROUND STATE "The idea that we closed beaches was insane in hindsight," he said, before adding that he also regrets that the state's largest public school systems remained closed longer than they should have. The clip ignited a social media firestorm, with conservatives and some Californians accusing Newsom of acknowledging mistakes they argued were obvious during the pandemic. In a post on X , Republican former Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt wrote, "No, Gavin. It was insane then. We all told you it was insane then. You knew it was insane then. You're just an insane person." "Remember when I sued you in both state and federal court to open the beaches of Orange County that you maliciously closed, and you lifted the order so as to moot our cases before the hearings?" Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon posted on X . "You knew it back then too, Governor." FAUCI'S DIARY SHOWS HE FED QUESTIONS TO JOURNALISTS, BUILT FRIENDSHIPS WITH MEDIA FIGURES "Gavin Newsom had a man arrested for paddleboarding alone because apparently that put him at risk of getting COVID," Benny Johnson, host of "The Benny Show," posted on X . "He filled skate parks with sand, forced masks on your kids, made you show a vaccine card to go anywhere in pu…