California's Newsom blames 'anti-mask and anti-vax extremists' for recall effort, vows to fight

On Monday, Newsom’s campaign sent an email out to supporters saying he would not take the recall effort against him "lying down" and urged recipients to sign onto a petition opposing the "far-right Republican recall effort" in his state.

Newsom went on to claim that the effort to remove him from the governor’s mansion is a "partisan, Republican recall" that was backed by "anti-mask and anti-vax extremists" as well as "pro-Trump forces" trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election. "And let’s just call it what it is: it’s a partisan, Republican recall — backed by the RNC, anti-mask and anti-vax extremists, and pro-Trump forces that want to overturn the last election and have opposed much of what we have done to fight the pandemic," wrote the governor.