In a recent interview with the show “Pod Save America” California representative Katie Porter made comments walking back previous language from remarks she said earlier this month that caused a stir online.
After being defeated by Adam Schiff in the Senate primary, Porter put out a post on X accusing the establishment of rigging the election.
Porter’s Loss
On March 6, Katie Porter took to social media platform X to accuse the Senate primary election of being rigged by billionaires.
“Thank you to everyone who supported our campaign and voted to shake up the status quo in Washington. Because of you, we had the establishment running scared — withstanding 3 to 1 in TV spending and an onslaught of billionaires spending millions to rig this election,” Porter wrote.
Comparisons to Trump
Porter’s comments were instantly compared to past ones by former President Donald Trump who has questioned past election results.
On the morning of January 6, 2021, Trump posted on Twitter, now X, that “These scoundrels are only toying with the @sendavidperdue (a great guy) vote. Just didn’t want to announce quite yet. They’ve got as many ballots as are necessary. Rigged Election!”
Backlash Against Her Comments
The reaction to Porter’s post was overwhelmingly negative, with even those who share Porter’s political leanings disappointed in the response.
“I’m a little disappointed in your choice of words, ‘rigged’ being the offensive word. Being a sore loser doesn’t look well on you, nor does it reflect well on women in politics, in general. Don’t play into their hands. Pull it together because you’re not done yet, Katie,” said liberal X user Lana M Wiggins.
Porter Doubles Down
After the backlash mounted against Porter for her X post, she put out a statement in an attempt to clarify what she meant. However, some saw this post as her doubling down on the language.
“Rigged” means manipulated by dishonest means. A few billionaires spent $10 million+ on attack ads against me, including an ad rated “false by an independent fact checker,” Porter wrote.
Clarifying Her Stance on Vote Counts
In the statement, Porter made sure to mention the fact that her comments were not in any way questioning the election process in California.
“I said “rigged by billionaires” and our politics are–in fact– manipulated by big dark money. Defending democracy means calling that out. At no time have I ever undermined the vote count and election process in CA, which are beyond reproach.”
Admitting Poor Choice of Words
Now, in a new sit-down interview with Pod Save America, Porter walked back her word choice in the wake of the response to her X post. One of the hosts brought up her past comments to which she had a new perspective.
“So, obviously, I wish I had chosen a different word.” Porter said.
Controversy Took Away From Two Truths
Porter lamented the fact that her poor word choice caused a controversy that took attention away from the real corruption in politics she was fighting against. In her view, she ultimately concedes that her comments have been count-productive to the conversation.
“What happened with the controversy was it took away from two really important truths,” Porter said.
Praising Election Integrity
In an effort to put daylight between her comments and previous rhetoric from Trump, she went on to praise election officials.
Porter said, “One, our California election officials do a terrific job. I have been through competitive, close elections where it has taken days to count, and so I have tremendous respect for them. So, [I] want to make clear that at no time and in no way would I ever suggest that there’s anything than a careful, thoughtful, amazing election system that actually should be the model for a lot of the country, in my opinion.”
Second Truth
In the second part of her answer, Porter outlines what she sees as big money’s compounding influence over modern politics.
“The second truth is that really important that got lost in all of that, is that big money does influence our elections. Outcomes are manipulated and distorted when you have people coming in, spending millions and millions of dollars at the last minute, and that money is not disclosed until after the election.”
Fair Shake PAC
Porter goes on to call out the Fair Shake PAC, a political action group that had previously raised money for ads against Porter.
“And we’re already seeing, like with this Fair Shake PAC, they’re making noises about threatening [Ohio Senator] Sherrod Brown, [Montana Senator] Jon Tester, these are people who are not necessarily interested in making sure Democrats have the majority and we can stand up to Donald Trump.”
Better Reception
The response to Porter’s new comments seems to be more positive than her earlier ones so far.
“She is so smart and so sharp it is a shame she will not be in Congress next session. But she chose to leave the House and run for Senate against a much stronger campaigner. I look forward to seeing what she does next,” X user The Glass Fish wrote.
