When the first press conference you cover in person in months is a recall event with a 1000 pound live bear... follow this thread for more 
The bear has been let out without a leash, @BeastJohnCox has not made an appearance yet
“He wants to be lieutenant governor,” @BeastJohnCox says. “Put away your salmon and honey.”
California is beautiful, “we even have a beautiful governor,” @BeastJohnCox says, referring to @GavinNewsom. “But what’s going on in California is anything but beautiful.”
“We need to recall our pretty boy governor,” @BeastJohnCox says. “Over 2 million people literally put their name on the line to recall him. They said, we can’t take this anymore. ... I don’t come from a political dynasty, my aunt isn’t @SpeakerPelosi.”
.@BeastJohnCox says his own background “is pretty ugly,” pointing out that he didn’t know his father and was raised by his mom, a schoolteacher. He adds that he’s not a pretty boy, but “my wife thinks it’s ok,” and adds it’s their 19th anniversary.
.@BeastJohnCox says the bear is there “because we have to be tough as beasts” to go against the political grain in California and fight special interests.
The bear appears to be running away
The bear is cleaning himself
“Integrity is the coin of the realm,” @BeastJohnCox says. “Our pretty boy governor has demonstrated he hasn’t done that, he gives no bid contracts all over the place to people who support his campaign. How’s this for a beastly idea - our legislators read bills before they vote?”
The bear is chasing a treat - bread?
“It’s a choice between the beauty and the beast,” @BeastJohnCox says. “It’s time to unleash the beast” as a trainer throws treats to the bear
“I’m not a household name,” @BeastJohnCox says, “it takes time to take a campaign... I got millions of votes in the 2018 gubernatorial election.”
The bear is lying down
The bear is running away again
Asked why people should take him seriously when he has a bear, he says “for better or worse, we need to get this message out,” @BeastJohnCox says. “I wish that didn’t need to be the case. You have to cut through the media. I’m going to talk about serious issues.”
.@BeastJohnCox says he had COVID-19 early in the pandemic and he “suffered along with other people.”
@BeastJohnCox says he would have protected the vulnerable early on in the pandemic and done better on testing, slams @GavinNewsom for being slow on allowing pharmacies to do Covid testing.
The bear has been lying down for a while at this point
“I started this campaign with $10M of my own money,” @BeastJohnCox says.
The bear is pacing restlessly
@BeastJohnCox says Donald Trump hasn’t reached out to him about his campaign.
@BeastJohnCox says the bear was born in captivity, so it couldn’t live in wild. “It’s had an absolutely wonderful life,” he adds.
@BeastJohnCox says the first thing he would do as governor is call a special session of the Legislature to address the housing crisis. “Housing is in every aspect of life in this state,” he says.
“When you’re in a hole, the first thing you do is stop digging deeper,” @BeastJohnCox says. “We need for turn this state around and start climbing out.”
Press conference ends, and bear is petted and given water
He’s getting cooled off
The trainer tells me he is fed cookies and chicken, and he was in a Super Bowl commercial last year
The trainer adds that the bear’s daily rate is more than his own
Bear and campaign trailer drive away (bear is in the carrier behind the white truck)
I genuinely think my cat smells bear on my bag bc she’s been sniffing it for the past 10 minutes with a look of extreme intensity
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