Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom was slammed as a hypocrite Wednesday for wearing a fleece coat in a seemingly air-conditioned room while urging residents to “save energy” amid a historic heat wave.
“CA is experiencing an unprecedented heatwave [sic]. This will be the hottest & longest on record for September,” Newsom said in a tweet Tuesday, as temperatures soared into triple digits in some parts of the state.
“Our energy grid is being pushed to its max. The risk of outages is real. We need everyone to double down to save energy after 4 p.m. today,” Newsom went on.
In an accompanying video, Newsom told Golden Staters to “Pre-cool your home. Run your conditioner earlier,” while wearing a zipped-up black fleece coat and baseball cap.
But critics on social media had a chilly reception for what they considered a double standard.
“He’s sitting inside wearing a warm jacket during a heat wave, telling the rest of us not to use AC,” one observer noted on Twitter.
Another blasted the gov by asking: “Why are you wearing a jacket zipped up to your neck? Is your AC too cold?”
Others wondered if Newsom was even in California at all.
“Gavin, I am sweating inside my own house right now with 1/4 of the clothing on that you’re wearing in this video. Where are you?” one critic wrote.
Newsom spokesperson Alex Stack said the governor’s video message was filmed following the state conservation guidelines during the unprecedented heat wave.
“Pre-cooling buildings before the 4 p.m. peak demand period, and then dialing up the thermostat to 78 degrees, is how California conserved energy during this record-breaking demand and heat wave,” Stack told The Post. “The Governor filmed this in a building before 4 p.m. where the guidance to pre-cool was followed.”
Stack did not further comment on why Newsom needed the fleece.
It’s not the first time the politician has been lambasted for apparently failing to follow his own rules and recommendations.
In November 2020, he notoriously attended a dinner party at the acclaimed Napa Valley restaurant The French Laundry after he discouraged households from gathering over the holidays. He later apologized.