Rep. Young Kim, R-Calif., told Newsmax on Tuesday that San Francisco residents should “absolutely” have clean and safe streets even when Chinese President Xi Jinping is not coming to town.
California Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom has been roasted for admitting that San Francisco was cleaned up ahead of the arrival of “fancy leaders” for the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders’ summit last week.
“I know folks say, ‘Oh, they’re just cleaning up this place because all those fancy leaders are coming into town.’ That’s true because it’s true,” Newsom said at a press conference.
During an appearance on “National Report,” Kim said it was amazing how quickly the streets of San Francisco were spruced up for Xi’s arrival.
“San Francisco and Californians deserve better,” she said. “And with his actions, Gov. Newsom has made it very clear that his priorities are not the people of California.”
Newsweek reported that in the days leading up to the event, downtown homeless encampments were cleared, graffiti was scrubbed clean, sidewalks were polished and decorative elements like murals and crosswalks were installed.
This was not Newsom’s first encounter with Xi. Before the Chinese president traveled to California, Kim said that the Golden State governor visited China.
“Prior to Xi Jinping coming to San Francisco, we saw Gov. Newsom traveling to China, which was just nothing more than a vanity trip and lots of photo ops,” she said.
Newsom reportedly traveled to China in late October to discuss climate change with Xi ahead of APEC and told reporters after the meeting that they also discussed Israel and fentanyl.
“We’re not going to move the needle on climate change unless the United States and China collaborate together,” he said at the time.
When the communist leader came to San Francisco, Newsom “actually rolled out the red carpet for Xi,” Kim said, while simultaneously “sweeping all of the crisis facing Californians under the rug.”
“That makes no sense.”
Kim also said that Newsom ought to try staying home for a change and working to solve the problems facing residents of the state.
“I just learned that he left the state yet again to spend Thanksgiving elsewhere, instead of taking care of the crisis facing Californians at home,” she said.
