It’s been a rough week or so for gubernatorial candidate (and former representative) Katie Porter — the kind of stretch that makes you wonder if her campaign bus runs on gas or spite.

First, Porter, 51, threatened to walk out of an interview with a local CBS affiliate after the interviewer had the unmitigated gall — gall! — to ask her what she would say to the 40% of California voters who voted for Trump.

Porter’s response was less “measured stateswoman” and more “substitute teacher after her fourth Starbucks of the day.”

“How would I need them in order to win, ma’am?” she snapped.

The reporter had a point. In California, the top two vote-getters emerge from the primary and face off in the general election, meaning that whoever hopes to win might need a few Republican votes to put them over the top.

But the moment was less about math or civics — and more about tone.

Then came the meltdown. “I don’t want to keep doing this. … Not with seven follow-ups to every single question you ask. … I don’t want to have an unhappy experience with you, and I don’t want this all on camera.”

If you’re first learning about this in print — where facial expressions and inflection are harder to convey — Porter’s vibe was … intense. Let’s just say, you wouldn’t want to ever have an “unhappy experience” with her.

And then, another shoe dropped — this time, courtesy of Politico, which unearthed a 2021 video showing Porter barking at a staffer who had walked into frame while she was recording a conversation.

“Get out of my f—ing shot,” she told an employee, while recording an interview with then-Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm.

After the staffer pleaded their case, Porter doubled down with the demeanor of a DMV worker on her last nerve: “OK, you also were in my shot before that. Stay out of my shot.”

For anyone who’s ever had horrible bosses (we all have), it was reminiscent of “The Devil Wears Prada” — if Meryl Streep had a whiteboard and a congressional pension, that is.

Now, Porter’s “mean boss” act might not matter if she were some fringe candidate that nobody was paying attention to. But she’s currently the front-runner for next year’s California gubernatorial race.

And the thing is, we’ve now got a pattern, a narrative, a trend. What this means is that a) there could be more videos to come (leaked, no doubt, by a plethora of disgruntled employees she’s left in her wake), and b) we are also being reminded of past indiscretions that suddenly make more sense.

In 2013 divorce proceedings, for example, Porter’s husband alleges she dumped scalding mashed potatoes on his head, “routinely” called him a “f—ing idiot,” shattered a glass coffee pot because their house wasn’t clean enough and wouldn’t let him have a cellphone “because, ‘You’re too f—ing dumb to operate it.’”

If you’ve ever been warned to “Watch how your date treats the waitress, because eventually she’ll treat you the same way,” Porter is starting to look like a similar ticking time bomb.

Now, Porter’s defenders will say she’s just “tough” and that she’s not here to play nice. I mean, won’t Democrats need someone strong to take on President Trump and MAGA?

Sure, but there’s a yawning chasm between being tough on the Republicans and being cruel to the interns. Voters want a fighter. But they don’t want a jerk. Almost everyone has had a bad boss who made them dread Mondays — or every day. And they remember that trauma.

Others will say, “Well, isn’t it sexist to criticize a powerful woman for being assertive?” Maybe. But also, times have changed. No one gets a pass anymore to act like Porter has. If the series had premiered in 2025, Ari Gold from HBO’s “Entourage” would have been canceled before the first episode finished airing.

We’ve collectively decided that maybe people shouldn’t be screamed at just for trying to do an honest day’s work and collect a meager paycheck.

Heck, even our football coaches have started toning down the verbal abuse of players.

Ironically, the best argument for defending Porter’s behavior is the one being made by people who think anti-bullying policies have made Americans too “soft” ( Pete Hegseth, call your office ).

Look, politics isn’t for the weak. But voters can tell the difference between toughness and meanness. Between grit and malice. Between fighting for people and just fighting people.

And sadly, Porter seems to veer into the latter.

During his presidential campaigns, Democrats were quick to criticize Trump’s lack of temperament. They said “character is destiny.” They had a point.

When someone shows you who they are — especially when you can see multiple examples of it on video — the logical thing to do is simple: Believe them.

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Matt K. Lewis is the author of “ Filthy Rich Politicians” and “ Too Dumb to Fail.”

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