CALIFORNIA, USA — Governor Gavin Newsom made his first public appearance in about two weeks at the 2021 California Economic Summit in Monterey Tuesday after abruptly canceling plans to attend the United Nations climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland.
During his one-on-one interview at the summit, Newsom explained his rare hiatus from public view and said he canceled a trip to an international climate conference so he could take his kids trick-or-treating on Halloween. He also shared his thoughts about social media.
“I think we would all do well taking some time from social media, it’s just a thought,” Newsom said.
The United Nations' climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland, was supposed to provide a global stage for Newsom to tout the state's work on climate change. But Newsom said Tuesday that the demands of a pandemic, wildfires and campaigning to keep his job during a recall election had taken time away from his family.
Newsom disappeared for nearly two weeks, holding no public events but spending time with his kids while working at the Capitol on issues like the port backlog and vaccines for kids. Newsom's lack of public events prompted speculation about his health, mostly from conservative political opponents on social media.
Neither the governor nor his office have said why they didn’t include more details before Tuesday about where Newsom was.
Newsom's last public appearance was Oct. 27, when he received a coronavirus booster shot.
WATCH: Gov. Newsom makes first appearance in weeks at 2021 CA Economic Summit (Nov. 9, 2021)