A short video commentary by Molly McPherson analyzing Katie Porter’s response to viral videos and public scrutiny during her gubernatorial campaign. McPherson argues Porter deployed a ‘non-apology’ strategy—acknowledging issues without explicit apology—framed as ‘own it, explain it, promise it,’ and discusses how temperament that made Porter popular in Congress now divides public opinion.
Katie Porter didn't have to apologize and she knew it. After a few videos went viral last week and created a lot of chatter and a lot of news stories digging into her past, questioning her temperament, this former congresswoman, now candidate for governor of California, embarked on a non apology tour. It looked like this.
When I look at those videos, I want people to know that I understand that I could have handled things better. I think I'm known as someone who's able to handle tough questions, who's willing to answer questions. And I want people to know that I really value the incredible work that my staff can do. And we're in a very extraordinary moment that what is happening with Donald Trump attacking our economy and our society, our long standing challenges with affordability. People know that we're going to need someone who's going to be strong, who's going to be tough, who's going to.
Be a fighter and who's going to push. That's not an apology, it's a reset. Here's why this sentiment, this was pulled from my media monitoring partner, Muckrack. You can see right here, positive, negative, but it's the middle that determines if you apologize or not. Katie Porter had her first taste of viral fame in Congress when she was holding people in hearings accountable. It was Katie's temperament and her whiteboard, a la Tim Russert, made her famous. But now she's infamous for showing that same type of spitfire personality. She didn't need to beg for forgiveness. Is it a good look now? It's not at all. But in her response, it still follows my framework that I use with clients. Own it, explain it, promise it. Owning it doesn't necessarily mean you have to apologize. It just means that you have to acknowledge and be accountable to something.
She was definitely could have handled things better. I want to make sure that people understand why I'm in this race and what I'm fighting for.
You acknowledge, you give context and explain why it happened and then you promise to do better. The pivot, the change of subject and you go back into the race. Yes, there were people who were offended by her personality, but there are some people who love her for it. It does bring up the issue of why we're holding women to a certain standard, but not men, particularly in this political environment. People in the spotlight bring in people like me to help them get through it. Surviving the story is the strategy.
