Democratic candidate for California governor, Xavier Becerra, is being roasted by members of his own party after suggesting to a female reporter that she ask him softball questions.
In an interview with KTLA's Annie Rose Ramos, Becerra awkwardly set the ground rules for the back-and-forth.
'By the way, this is a profile piece, this is not a gotcha piece, right?' the candidate asked.
Ramos responded by saying her questions would be 'fair,' adding, 'it's in order to learn about you as a candidate.'
'As long as it's about the profile,' Becerra then said.
She responded by saying, 'I don't know how you define profile, but I'd like to begin the interview.'
'The way I describe profile is - you talk about all the things that I've done, the things I want to do, along with some tough questions, but not only tough questions,' Becerra said.
Several prominent Democrats and an anti-Trump Republican jumped on the exchange.
Xavier Becerra, a Democratic hopeful for California governor, is taking heat from members of his own party over comments he made to a reporter suggesting he didn't want a difficult interview
Xavier Becerra sat down with KTLA's Annie Rose Ramos (pictured) for an interview, in which he asked the reporter, 'By the way, this is a profile piece, this is not a gotcha piece, right?'
'Politicians and candidates…let your staff have these whiny conversations! Or at least don't do it on camera!' said former Obama official Tommy Vietor, now a Pod Save America co-host.
Democratic strategist Michael Trujillo replied to the clip by saying: 'I've seen this a lot in my community. A man telling a younger woman how to do her job, this just posted on KTLA Los Angeles. Dude it’s 2026.'
The Bulwark's Tim Miller, a Jeb Bush campaign alum who's part of the 'Never Trump' movement, called it 'cringe-inducingly bad from Becerra.'
NBC's national political reporter, Jonathan Allen, chimed in and recalled an equally cringeworthy incident involving Becerra when the gubernatorial hopeful was serving as President Joe Biden's Health and Human Services Secretary - the job now occupied by Robert F Kennedy Jr.
'This is not surprising to anyone who has ever covered Becerra,' Allen posted to X on Tuesday. 'He once held up his fingers in the sign of the cross to ward me off, as though I were a vampire.'
Allen went on to explain he had 'accurately' described an effort by Becerra to get between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the Congressional Progressive Caucus on expanding the Affordable Care Act with a public option.
Earlier this month, former Department of Justice official Xochitl Hinojosa said on a CNN panel that Democrats who worked for Biden are wary that Becerra would be able to stand up to President Donald Trump.
'Can I tell you after working in Joe Biden's administration, I do not trust Xavier Becerra to do that,' she said, shocking co-panelist, Republican Scott Jennings.
Xavier Becerra (second from right) is part of a crowded field of California gubernatorial candidates that also include (from left) Democrats Antonio Villaraigosa, Katie Porter, Tom Steyer, Republicans Steve Hilton and Chad Bianco and Democrat Matt Mahan
'He was not effective in government,' Hinojosa went on, when prodded by host Abby Phillip. 'And I think a lot of people in the Biden administration are talking about this because they realize he's not an effective HHS secretary. If you ask any Cabinet secretary, they would tell you the same thing.'
Becerra's spokesperson Jonathan Underland defended the candidate's back-and-forth with the reporter in a statement to the Daily Mail.
'Unlike other candidates in the race, Becerra sticks around even when the questions get tough. He's proven over decades in public service that he will always show up, take questions, and defend the right of journalists to do their jobs,' Underland said.
Becerra's prospects have been rising in the crowded California gubernatorial race to replace term-limited Governor Gavin Newsom, after the departure of former Representative Eric Swalwell, whose bid tanked after rape and other sexual misconduct allegations were made by multiple women.
Swalwell denied the rape and sexual assault allegations, but pulled out of the governor's race last month and resigned from Congress.
Democrats are sweating that the state's two Republican hopefuls, Steve Hilton and Chad Bianco, could advance due to California's rules that allow for a bipartisan primary, with the two top vote-getters advancing to the November general election.
A Kreate Strategies poll released Sunday showed Hilton in first place with 22 percent support, followed by Becerra at 20 percent, Democrat Tom Steyer at 14 percent and Bianco at 13 percent.
Democrats San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan and former Representative Katie Porter are tied at 9 percent each. Additionally, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa sits at 1 percent.
Ten percent of the electorate remains undecided.
Mahan already used the Becerra clip in a new campaign ad, which also features a rough exchange Porter had with a reporter.
California's open primary will be held on June 2.