Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) took aim at his California counterpart, Gavin Newsom (D), on Wednesday, attacking the defecation and drug use he says he saw in the streets of the West Coast state.
The 2024 Republican presidential hopeful’s comments came in an interview with former President Donald Trump’s former press secretary Kayleigh McEnany. It aired Wednesday on Fox News during the time slot that used to belong to Tucker Carlson.
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The friendly interview contrasted the tone of other high-profile interviews on the network recently, in which interviewers have sparred with the likes of Newsom, Trump, and others.
The first topic broached was about what DeSantis called culture wars being waged by the Left. The Florida governor said the notion that the state is instituting a book ban for removing certain books from schools was a “hoax.”
Things then turned to the topic of Newsom. McEnany showed a clip of Newsom touting recent successes in California and saying Florida can’t compare. DeSantis let loose in his response.
“We’re No. 1 in new business formations even though we’re only 60% of the size of California,” DeSantis said. “We have way less tax, way less debt. We have one of the lowest tax and debt burdens in the entire country.”
The Florida governor then turned to the topic of people moving from California after decades of the state having a reputation for being widely desired, and he placed blame for the alleged exodus on Newsom.
“Now they’re hemorrhaging wealth. Now they’re hemorrhaging population because you see things like what I saw the other day in San Francisco,” DeSantis said.
“I saw people defecating on the sidewalk. I saw people in an open-air drug market using fentanyl. I saw them using crack cocaine, and I had … some of the left-wing San Francisco people say some nasty things to me,” he continued.
While some in the Golden State were allegedly acting up in the streets, DeSantis said the police in the state showed him respect.
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“I had the police officers come over and shake my hand and thank me for what we’re doing in Florida because they wish they had a commitment to law and order,” DeSantis said.
“I grew up in Florida,” he added. “I never saw California license plates until the last four years.”
