Former Rep. Katie Porter’s latest campaign ad is a masterclass in what not to do.
The decision to embrace her scandal during her California gubernatorial race may not have had the effect she was hoping for, as X users are left scratching their heads. The ad is enough to make any well-adjusted person wonder if Porter thinks she’s being “relatable” by joking about the verbal abuse she once hurled at a staff member.
Watch:
I’m at a loss for words. This is so bad.pic.twitter.com/5uoDNjH6Ea
— Keith Edwards (@keithedwards) May 5, 2026
“I’m Katie Porter, and I’m not like most people who run for governor; I actually get what you’re going through. A single mom of three kids, I know what it’s like to push the shopping cart,” she says, as a woman holds up a sign about grocery expenses.
“My minivan has almost 200,000 miles,” she adds, as a man holds a sign remarking on “sky-high gas prices.”
“I have a grown kid who may soon be living on my couch. To give Californians what they need, it’s going to take standing up to [President] Donald Trump, calling out greedy corporations, and stepping on some toes along the way. Now, could you guys please get out of my shot?” she jokes, as the people in the background laugh like she said something funny.
While she may think this is a funny callback to the time she was caught screaming at a staffer, X users were anything but amused.
i push my own shopping cart, also i abuse my staff, tee-hee
— Keith Edwards (@keithedwards) May 5, 2026
That ending, tho. What was she thinking?
— Check It Out
(@CheckItOutDR) May 5, 2026
When she loses she will probably blame a staffer for this ad airing or some shit lmao
— Blazing Rebel (@stillwout) May 5, 2026
“Im a single mom of three kids. I know what it’s like to assault someone with a pot of boiling mashed potatoes”
— Michael Cipriano (@Cip3of4) May 5, 2026
It’s solid until that last line, which is not only tone deaf but comes across strongly as the only part of the ad she wrote
— Courtney Brown (@hardcoretney) May 5, 2026
She should be embarrassed. I wonder if the next commercial she’ll talk about throwing hot soup on her husband.
— WhyDoUAsk (@WhyDoUAsk239671) May 5, 2026
I wonder why they didn’t show her making mashed potatoes in her kitchen for her adoring family…
????
— jungman (@notajungman) May 5, 2026
