A Tale of Two Tyrants: California governor meets New Zealand prime minister

California Governor Gavin Newsom greeted New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern Saturday. She had arrived with her business delegation to discuss climate change. Although Newsom, has received the Pfizer shot four times, he tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday.  In a tweet he thanked the vaccine and Paxlovid for his mild symptoms:

“This AM, I tested positive for COVID-19 and am currently experiencing mild symptoms,” tweeted Newsom. “Grateful to be vaccinated & for treatments like Paxlovid. I’m following health guidelines and will be isolating while I work remotely. Wishing everyone a safe & healthy Memorial Day weekend.” 

The meeting comes after fully vaccinated Ardern contracted COVID-19 herself earlier this month. 

Both California and New Zealand imposed some of the strictest COVID-19 restrictions in the world. 

Newsom is known for his startlingly harsh COVID-19 response, California being one of only two states in the country to force schoolchildren to get injected with the COVID-19 shot. California’s tough lockdowns also earned it one of the lowest scores in its handling of the pandemic, faring worse than nearly all states in mortality, economy and education, according to a study. 

While Newsom included California beaches and wineries in the lockdowns, he pointedly allowed his winery in Napa Valley to remain open, despite being indoors.  

Newsom’s edicts made him so reviled that California citizens were able to force a recall election vote, which he ultimately survived. 

But the governor seems to have found a kindred match in New Zealand’s Jacinda Ardern, who teased New Zealand citizens with freedom if they got their COVID shots. 

“The new COVID-19 Protection Framework sets a pathway forward that rewards the rapidly growing number of vaccinated New Zealanders with more freedoms to go about their lives safely,” she said in October. 

“If you are still unvaccinated, not only will you be more at risk of catching COVID-19, but many of the freedoms others enjoy will be out of reach,” she warned. 

Ardern became famous for her hostility towards the unvaccinated, revealing in October her intent to use the vaccine to create two separate classes. 

“So, you’ve basically said, this is gonna be like, well it’s almost like, and you probably don’t see it like this, [inaudible] two different classes of people, if you’re vaccinated or if you’re unvaccinated,” Ardern was asked by a reporter. “You have all these rights if you are vaccinated–”  

“That is what it is,” confirmed Ardern, smiling. “So, yep. Yep.” 

Even as New Zealand was 90% vaccinated, Ardern continued to maintain a “lottery” to determine who would be permitted to enter the country. Entry became so restrictive that one triple-vaccinated New Zealander stranded in Afghanistan was forced to turn to the Taliban for help.