Gavin Newsom Says He Complained To Target Worker’s Manager After She Blamed Him for Rampant Shoplifting in State

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California Gov. Gavin Newsom claimed on Wednesday that he asked to speak to a Target employee’s manager after she blamed him for rampant shoplifting in the state, seemingly unaware who she was speaking to.

In a clip from a Zoom call posted to social media by San Francisco reporter Gabriel Lorenzo Greschler, Newsom could be heard telling a group of California mayors about the time he witnessed shoplifting firsthand at a Target store in the state.

Newsom said that after witnessing a man walk out of the store without paying, an employee told him, “Oh, he’s just walking out, he didn’t pay for that.”

“I said, ‘Why didn’t you stop him?’ She goes, “Oh, the governor.’ Swear to God, true story, on my mom’s grave. ‘The governor lowered the threshold, there’s no accountability,'” recalled Newsom. “I said that’s just not true. I said we have the tenth toughest, $950, the tenth toughest in America.”

He continued:

She said, “Well we don’t stop them because of the governor,” and then she goes, she looks at me twice, and then she freaks out, she calls everyone over, wants to take photos. I’m like, “No, I’m not taking a photo, we’re having a conversation. Where’s your manager? How are you blaming the governor?” And it was, you know, $380 later and I was like, “Why am I spending $380 when everyone can walk the hell right out?”

As Newsom recalled the story, Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer, Riverside Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson, and Irvine Mayor Farrah Khan could be seen laughing in the background.

Newsom has repeatedly denied any responsibility for California’s worsening crime problem as major stores continue to flee San Francisco, where Newsom previously served as mayor.