Podcast: Larry Elder opens up on coronavirus response, his controversial column on women in politics
LOS ANGELES - Larry Elder joined Elex Michaelson and Marla Tellez on FOX 11's special report as the gubernatorial candidate weighed in key issues.
Elder, who is a popular conservative talk radio show host, has emerged as the front-runner to possibly replace Governor Gavin Newsom in the upcoming recall election.
Here are some of Elder's responses to some of California's key issues.
CALIFORNIA'S COVID-19 RESPONSE:
Elder, who is vaccinated, says he is not against the COVID-19 shots and adds the vaccines work. However, Elder has vowed to repeal Newsom's mask and vaccine mandates if he wins the election.
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On Tuesday, he doubled down on the stance, saying he will not require state employees to get the vaccine.
"I thought the whole point in getting vaccinated was to protect against people who have not been vaccinated?" He said.
WOMEN IN POLITICS
FOX 11's Marla Tellez asked Elder to speak on the op-ed that the candidate wrote more than 20 years ago. Elder's May 2000 column sparked controversy after he argued that women "know less than men about political issues."
"Women know less than men about political issues, economics, and current events. Good news for Democrats, bad news for Republicans. For the less one knows, the easier the manipulation," the op-ed read, in part.
RELATED: Everything you need to know before you vote in the California governor recall election
In response to Tellez, Elder argued that he was simply quoting a study at the Annenberg School at the University of Pennsylvania and that he was unfairly criticized for that.
"Now, all of a sudden, that makes me anti-women, I think that's extremely unfair," Elder told Tellez. "I've written 1,100 articles, including an article in which I talked about the fact that young women make more money than young men. There are more women in college than men… for some reason, that was not cited."
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