Many Americans likely had no idea who Katie Porter was until a clip of the California gubernatorial candidate went viral this week.
Porter served as a member of Congress representing the Golden State from 2019 to 2025, when she launched her bid for governor. California Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom is term-limited, and Porter has been leading in early polling ahead of the 2026 election.
Searches for Porter’s name rose sharply on Google this week after a roughly three-minute clip of her interview with CBS California reporter Julie Watts went viral.
Porter was asked if she thinks she needs to win over any of President Donald Trump’s supporters in order win the election. When asked follow-up questions regarding that, Porter became visibly agitated and called the interview “unnecessarily argumentative,” adding that she would like to end the interview.
Janiyah Thomas, who served as the director for black media for Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign, says Porter’s campaign team has its work cut out for it after the media appearance.
Thomas joins “Problematic Women” to discuss Porter’s campaign. Thomas also discusses how Trump was able to make significant inroads with black voters in the last election.
Also on today’s show, we discuss this week’s White House roundtable discussion on the far-left militant group Antifa and the peace deal between Hamas and Israel. Plus, in pop culture news, we break down the best and worst of Taylor Swift’s new album.
