California Republicans unleash on Newsom over swanky dinner party, liken him to Marie Antoinette

California Republicans ripped Gov. Gavin Newsom for attending a swanky birthday party with people from outside of his home while not wearing a face mask, likening it to a “Marie Antoinette” moment.

“I’m a lawyer who has sued the governor, but I’m still following the rules while fighting them,” Harmeet Dhillon told Fox News Wednesday night. “Not just blowing them off like the governor is doing.”

She added that the dinner had a “Marie Antoinette feel to it — ‘let them eat cake.’”

“Eating with a bunch of lobbyists at an expensive restaurant, this is at the same time that you’ve put half of California out of work,” Dhillon said. “Add up drinks and appetizers — their meal per person was more than the monthly unemployment check.”

Others echoed Dhillon, with state Sen. Shannon Grove posting a “pop quiz” on Twitter.

“Pop Quiz: In California, $350 is equal to: (a) one week’s unemployment check for millions of California workers (b) the cost of Gavin Newsom’s dinner at Napa’s French Laundry restaurant or (c) both of the above,” she wrote.

“In the future, when critics of lobbyists make their case, this dinner will be Exhibit A,” Claremont McKenna College politics professor Jack Pitney said of the dinner.

Republican State Assemblyman James Gallagher told Fox News: “He’s the one telling people to change their Thanksgiving plans — yet he himself is gathering privately at an expensive restaurant that many Californians can’t afford.”

“Most of our cases are coming from private gatherings — weddings, family gatherings, celebrations,” he added. “It’s hard to force a free society to stop people from gathering. As we’ve seen from the governor, even he himself has a hard time avoiding private gatherings.”

San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer tweeted of the event: “His kids can learn in person. But yours can’t. He can celebrate birthday parties. But you can’t. He can dine on a $350 meal at one of California’s fanciest restaurants during the worst recession in generations. But you definitely can’t. Can you believe this? I can’t.”

Photos of the event surfaced this week and show none of the 12 partygoers wearing face masks, most notably the Democratic governor.

“EXCLUSIVE: We’ve obtained photos of Governor Gavin Newsom at the Napa dinner party he’s in hot water over. The photos call into question just how outdoors the dinner was. A witness who took photos tells us his group was so loud, the sliding doors had to be closed,” Fox 11’s Bill Melugin tweeted, accompanied by the photos.

It was also discovered that California Medical Association CEO Dustin Corcoran and CMA lobbyist Janus Norman were among those present celebrating the birthday of Jason Kinney, Newsom’s political adviser.

Newsom announced this week that he was halting the state’s reopening plan and put 94% of California under the state’s most restrictive coronavirus guidelines. Guidelines in the state also prohibit more than three households from gathering.

He apologized for the dinner on Monday, saying he needs to “preach and practice.”

“I want to apologize to you because I need to preach and practice, not just preach and not practice, and I’ve done my best to do that,” Newsom said. “We’re all human. We all fall short sometimes.”