Becerra Draws Criticism for Demanding 'Profile Piece' from Reporter in California Governor Interview

Democratic California gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra drew criticism after a tense exchange with KTLA reporter Annie Rose Ramos over the nature of their interview.

Becerra, seen as a top contender in the state's jungle primary after former Rep. Eric Swalwell dropped out, sat for the station's series on leading candidates. The interview aired Tuesday.

Becerra opened by saying, "By the way, this is a profile piece. This is not a gotcha piece, right?"

Ramos replied, "Look, I think these questions are fair. It's in order to learn about you as a candidate."

Becerra pressed, "So long as it's about the profile."

"I don't know how you define profile, but I'd like to begin the interview," Ramos said.

Becerra explained, "The way I describe profile is you talk about all the things I've done, things I want to do — along with some tough questions, but not only tough questions."

He did face tough questions, including on tackling homelessness and his tenure as Health and Human Services secretary under President Biden. Ramos raised claims that his agency lost track of more than 85,000 migrant children who entered the country illegally.

Ramos later told KTLA colleagues she was caught off guard by Becerra's remarks. She called her experience dramatically different from interviews with other candidates.

"To have it start this way before I had even asked a question... it's about asking some of the hard questions sometimes but allowing our viewers to get to know each candidate," she said. "So that is why not just myself but our editors and executive producers here at KTLA decided to include that portion in this piece."

Social media users widely criticized Becerra's conduct.

Democratic strategist Michael Trujillo wrote, "A man telling a younger woman how to do her job, this just posted on KTLA Los Angeles. Dude it’s 2026."

Pod Save America co-host Tommy Vietor said, "Politicians and candidates…let your staff have these whiny conversations! Or at least don’t do it on camera!"

NBC News correspondent Jonathan Allen recalled a 2010 incident when Becerra, then a congressman, made the sign of the cross at him after a story on Becerra's push with the Progressive Caucus against Nancy Pelosi over an ACA public option. "This is not surprising to anyone who has ever covered Becerra. He once held up his fingers in the sign of the cross to ward me off, as though I were a vampire," Allen wrote.

Semafor reporter David Weigel joked, "How come Fauci was the face of Biden’s COVID response and not the HHS secretary? We may never know."

Some compared Becerra to rival Katie Porter, who last year told CBS California reporter Julie Watts she did not want an unhappy experience and threatened to leave over follow-up questions.

The Becerra campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.