GOP candidate whines that media won't cover his ideas after campaign stunt involving a bear backfires

John Cox, a Republican gubernatorial candidate who hopes to get elected if Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom is successfully recalled, is furious that the media isn't covering his policy agenda after he brought a bear with him on the campaign trail as part of a widely criticized publicity stunt.

Cox, a businessman who is promising to make "beastly" changes to California if elected and who regularly attacks Newsom as a "pretty boy," brought a 1,000 pound Kodiak bear with him this week during a campaign stop in Sacramento.

As ABC 7 News reports, the move drew swift condemnation from animal rights groups and also a rebuke from Darren Minier, assistant director of animal care at the Oakland Zoo.

Specifically, Minier said that there was no way for Cox to stop the bear from going on a potentially deadly rampage if it got scared by being surrounded by people.

"Truthfully with a bear that's scared, a hot wire is not really going to stop it," he said. "If the hot wire is strong enough to actually stop the bear, it's a danger to be around."

According to KQED News reporter Guy Marzorati, Cox complained about the media's decision to focus its coverage of his campaign on the bear that he chose to bring with him to campaign stops.

"The coverage yesterday was all about the bear," he whined, before saying that the media should be covering the way that Newsom has made California "unlivable and dangerous."