Los Angeles Times Owner Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong is turning down the Bass.
Dr. Soon-Shiong called his paper’s endorsement of embattled Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass a “mistake” during an appearance on the “2 Way” podcast Monday. The LA Times endorsed Bass during the 2022 mayor election.
“At the LA Times we endorsed Karen Bass, I think right now that’s a mistake, and we admit that,” Soon-Shiong said.
SILENT ON ARRIVAL: LA MAYOR KAREN BASS REFUSES TO ANSWER QUESTIONS FOR HER ABSENCE AS WILDFIRES RAVAGE CITY
Bass has been the subject of intense scrutiny after devastating wildfires broke out in her city, burning down over 40,000 acres and killing 24 people. The mayor was criticized for initially being AWOL from the state when the blaze broke out — she was in Ghana attending the inauguration of the country’s president.
When Bass finally arrived back in the city, she received more backlash by refusing to answer questions from Sky News reporter Andrew Blevins, and delivering a bewildered press conference performance that increased doubts about her ability to lead during the crisis.
“Emergency information, resources and shelter is available. All of this can be found at URL,” the mayor said in a widely-ridiculed message to the public.
A Change.org petition to recall Bass and slamming her as “grossly incompetent” has amassed over 123,000 signatures.
LA MAYOR KAREN BASS TOLD NY TIMES IN 2021 THAT SHE WOULDN’T TRAVEL INTERNATIONALLY AS MAYOR
“Water supplies have been severely strained, billions of taxpayer dollars have been misallocated or left unaccounted for, and countless lives have been lost,” the petition said.
“Competence matters,” Soon-Shiong told the podcast, which is hosted by veteran political reporter Mark Halperin.
“We should think about how we actually elect people, on the basis of did they actually run a job did they actually make a payroll. Rather than having political politicians whose only job is to run for office,” Soon-Shiong said, reiterating past criticisms he leveled at California’s political establishment in the wake of the deadly wildfires.
“You really need people to understand how it affects the man in the street. President Trump in this election has understood that. The Republican party has become the Democratic Party in terms of addressing the problems of the man on the street,” the LA Times owner said.
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