'Where?s our Governor?' Gavin Newsom returns to public eye after his wife confronts Twitter critics - USA TODAY

Twitter users grilled Jennifer Siebel Newsom, the wife of California Gov. Gavin Newsom, about a new tweet and a since-deleted tweet before her husband reemerged Tuesday after canceling an appearance to the United Nations' climate change conference in Scotland, citing "family obligations." 

Online speculation had grown as Newsom stayed out of public view since an Oct. 29 event, though his press secretary Daniel Lopez told the San Francisco Chronicle that the governor worked at the Capitol last week and that his usual appearances would resume this week.

Siebel Newsom, an award-winning filmmaker, posted Monday about a new project called "Fair Play," a documentary investigating domestic inequality. But commenters were far more interested in Gov. Newsom's whereabouts. #WheresGavinNewsom quickly began to trend. 

Lopez noted that the governor's conference cancellation last month was not a result of the COVID-19 booster shot he received in his last public appearance. Newsom was in San Francisco on Saturday for the wedding of Getty oil heiress Ivy Love Getty, according to an ABC report that noted House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was an officiant. 

Backlash had centered particularly on the booster shot, with speculation about the safety of boosters coming into question with Newsom out of the public eye. The booster shots are safe and effective and have limited side effects, according to medical experts. 

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On Tuesday, Newsom was back in the public eye at the 2021 California Economic Summit and offered an explanation for his hiatus.

Siebel Newsom was also criticized for deleting a Sunday tweet in which she criticized the public for scrutiny of her family's obligations and wrote, "Certain folks can't handle truth." 

Newsom's absence from the public eye had been peculiar, and his decision to skip the U.N. climate change conference - where he would have been among major world leaders - was viewed as even more puzzling because Newsom has promoted California as a leader by banning the sale of gas-powered cars by 2035.