Democrat gubernatorial candidate Katie Porter faced renewed scrutiny over her past behavior toward staffers during Tuesday night’s California governor debate hosted by CNN, after moderators questioned her about viral incidents involving confrontations with staff and reporters, as reported by the Gateway Pundit.

The debate exchange centered on a 2021 Zoom video that resurfaced last year showing Porter angrily criticizing staffers while preparing for a remote appearance.

In the video, Porter could be seen visibly frustrated as aides attempted to adjust the lighting during the call.

“I need the lights off!” Porter said in the clip. “The bright lights…I need you to turn these off.”

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“These, that are killing me… not that dark!” she added.

Dem CA gubernatorial candidate Katie Porter seen shooting death stares at her staff during a Zoom meeting after they messed up her lighting.

"I need the lights off... the bright lights... I need you to turn these off. These, that are killing me... Not that dark." I'm convinced… pic.twitter.com/hE6JCwhjli — Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) October 9, 2025

CNN moderator Kaitlan Collins raised the issue while questioning fellow Democrat candidate Antonio Villaraigosa about Porter’s temperament and leadership style.

“That highlighted your opponent here, Congresswoman Katie Porter, threatening to cut off an interview with a reporter,” Collins said.

“That came after a video surfaced of her berating a member of her staff. If a senior official in your government acted as she did in those videos, would you fire them?”

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Villaraigosa responded simply, “Yes.”

Collins then referenced a campaign ad Porter recently released that addressed criticism surrounding the staff confrontation.

“And you’ve put out an ad of your own now, making light of that interaction that you had with your staffer… which you said you apologized for,” Collins said.

Porter quickly pushed back.

“That is not correct,” Porter responded in what appeared to be a wavering voice.

“The ad is about showing Californians what they’ve had a chance to see on this stage tonight and in every other debate stage that we’ve had. Which is that I’m able to take responsibility. I’m able to follow the rules. I’m able to say I’m sorry and I’m able to do better.”

Porter also referenced a recent interview exchange in which she abruptly ended a conversation with a reporter and walked away.

“Everybody in California had a chance to see me on stage with that reporter in the last debate and see exactly how I conducted myself,” she said.

“Californians can decide for themselves about my temperament based on what they’ve seen here tonight.”

She then turned her criticism toward other candidates participating in the debate.

“And if these bullies, these boys bullying and bickering, hasn’t been enough to raise questions about their temperament, I would really challenge that,” Porter said.

Porter acknowledged making mistakes in the past and said she had repeatedly addressed the issue publicly.

“I have taken responsibility at this point hundreds of times, and that’s appropriate because I made a bad decision and I treated someone badly,” she said.

As the exchange continued, Porter became emotional while discussing criticism she has faced during the campaign.

“I apologized five years ago for it, and we worked together for four more years,” Porter said.

“What I haven’t heard is the people on this stage who have made other bad decisions and other mistakes and other failures of leadership. Not one of them, not one of these men have said in this entire campaign, ‘I’ve made a mistake.’”

Porter then singled out another candidate on stage.

“Not for not being able to account for undocumented children who wound up in child labor. You called that MAGA talking points and a hoax, Mr. Becerra,” she said.

“You, like, I could go down the line. I don’t even want to waste my time on this.”

Porter closed the exchange by defending her qualifications and ability to lead California.

“I just want to say to California, I have taken responsibility. I have shown that,” Porter said.

“And what that ad is about, Kaitlan, is about showing that I can laugh at myself. I can hold myself to account. And I have the fitness, the temperament, and the best ideas to be governor. And everybody’s had a chance to see now in 3 debates now.”

This was painful to watch.

Democrat Katie Porter nearly BREAKS DOWN IN TEARS on the debate stage after CNN’s Kaitlan Collins confronts her with her own profanity-laced video of her berating a staffer. Collins brought it up twice in just a few minutes. Brutal. PORTER: “I have… pic.twitter.com/A3EFmw0RJZ — Overton (@overton_news) May 6, 2026

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