Gavin Newsom is finally apologizing for COVID. Let me help him finish

Gov. Gavin Newsom recently made a surprising admission: He has regrets about how he handled COVID. How touching. Since the governor has finally started apologizing, I thought I’d help him finish. I drafted some remarks for him to deliver.

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My fellow Californians:

I recently told Jake Tapper of CNN that I have some regrets about the way I handled COVID.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom receives a Moderna COVID-19 vaccine booster shot in 2021. AP

I know. This came as a surprise to me, too.

Standing in a river in Montana, which is traditionally where California governors go to discover their mistakes, I acknowledged that closing the beaches was “insane in hindsight.” I also admitted that some of our largest school districts stayed closed too long.

Apparently, once you start contemplating a run for president, hindsight gets considerably better reception.

So today I want to offer Californians the COVID apology I probably should have given years ago.

First, to California’s children: I’m sorry.

We kept you out of school. We put you in front of computer screens and called it education. At the urging of some of my most generous political supporters, including the California Teachers Association, we imposed rules that kept classrooms closed and helped some of the state’s largest school districts stay closed far too long.

Newsom removes his face mask before giving an update during a visit to Pittsburg, California, June 30, 2020. AP

You lost classroom instruction, friendships and experiences you will never get back.

On the bright side, your teachers learned how to use Zoom.

To California’s parents: I’m sorry.

You became teachers, IT technicians and full-time child-care providers while simultaneously being expected to keep doing your actual jobs.

Government officials who had never met your children nevertheless decided we knew what was best for them.

This may sound presumptuous now. At the time, however, we had charts. Really cool charts.

I also regret allowing California’s powerful public employee unions to have so much influence over decisions that should have been guided by common sense and what was best for the public.

A paddle-boarding man was arrested following California beach closures due to the 2020 pandemic. Lost Hills Sheriff's Station

It turns out public employees getting paid whether their workplaces were open or closed saw things a little differently than parents trying to get their kids back into classrooms.

To California’s small-business owners: I’m sorry.

We decided some businesses were “essential” and others were not. If yours landed in the second category, we closed it.

Restaurants. Gyms. Hair salons. Movie theaters.

You had employees to pay, leases to cover and families depending on you. We had tiers, charts, emergency orders and colors.

Obviously, this was not a fair fight.

Some of your businesses never reopened.

Government did.

Although, getting everyone who works for me to actually come back to the office has been a bitch.

Newsom, far left, dines with wife Jennifer Siebel Newsom and others at The French Laundry in Yountville in Nov. 2020.

To Californians who wanted to go to the beach: I’m sorry.

We actually closed beaches.

Unfortunately, common sense had apparently been declared nonessential.

To everyone who followed my rules while I attended a dinner at the French Laundry: I’m especially sorry.

You canceled Thanksgiving dinners, skipped birthday parties and stayed away from elderly parents.

Meanwhile, I attended a dinner at one of America’s most expensive restaurants.

I later called this a “boneheaded” decision.

In fairness, the restaurant was essential.

To Californians subjected to vaccine mandates: I’m sorry.

We told you what to put in your body. If you disagreed, we threatened your job.

Newsom with his wife Siebel Newsom and their daughter Brooklynn speaking to volunteers in San Francisco, 2021. AP

We called that public health.

Some of you had questions. We had answers. And when our answers changed, we had new answers.

What we never seemed to have was much patience for you asking questions in the first place.

Nothing says “trust the science” quite like “or else.”

At least I stayed out of Anthony Fauci’s diary.

Or at least I think I did.

To California’s doctors: I’m sorry I signed a law threatening professional discipline for doctors who provided patients with COVID information the state defined as misinformation.

In hindsight, maybe politicians shouldn’t decide what doctors are allowed to say.

And finally, to every Californian who questioned any of this: I’m sorry.

Information changed. Recommendations changed. The science changed.

Our confidence did not.

COVID forced government to make hard decisions, often without complete information. People were dying.

Maybe that was exactly when we should have shown a little humility.

Instead, we told 40 million Californians what they could do, where they could go and whether they could work — and then acted offended when some of them questioned us.

Six years later, I can finally admit some of this.

Closing the beaches was insane.

Schools stayed closed too long.

French Laundry was boneheaded (though really good).

In 2020 Newsom announced updated restrictions including statewide closures of businesses including bars and gyms. Getty Images

Of course, millions of Californians pointed these things out at the time.

But they lacked something I have finally acquired.

Hindsight.

And perhaps one other thing.

Putting all this behind us and getting your support for my presidential ambitions.

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There you have it, Governor. Consider this my contribution to the campaign. The apology is free. Getting Californians to forget why you needed it may cost a little more.

Jon Fleischman, a longtime strategist in California politics, writes at SoDoesItMatter.com.

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