Republican presidential hopeful and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis systematically destroyed Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday night during a debate on Fox News.
It was not just a debate between the men leading two of America’s most populous states, but a battle of two visions for a country that is woefully divided, in record debt, and no longer sovereign — not since President Joe Biden opened up the southern border.
Newsom defended the Biden administration throughout the debate, effectively tying himself to the president’s disastrous economic, social and foreign policies.
A capable debater, he appeared as though he might have a fighting chance early on. But before long, his strategy of making misleading statements, dodging questions and spinning the truth wore thin, and he appeared visibly frustrated.
DeSantis, meanwhile, relied on the facts to make his points for him. It wasn’t difficult, as moderator Sean Hannity introduced many topics that compared and contrasted California and Florida with statistics from sources Democrats tend to trust.
The numbers did not favor Newsom.
It got so bad that, according to Politico, the Democratic governor tapped out at the insistence of his wife.
“A DeSantis aide said California first partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom was the one who stepped in and ended the debate on her husband’s behalf after Hannity invited the two governors to go deeper into overtime. A second person on the ground confirmed that.”
DeSantis walked away looking like a rejuvenated candidate. On the other hand, if Democrats are indeed seeking to replace the unpopular Biden before the 2024 election, they might need to look somewhere other than Sacramento or the French Laundry, the exclusive restaurant Newsom was busted visiting in 2020 after ordering his state’s residents to stay home.
In any event, DeSantis won big. Here are his five most brutal takedowns:
5. DeSantis Said Newsom’s Own Father-in-Law Praised Florida as a Beacon of Leadership
Several times throughout the debate, DeSantis reminded Newsom and those watching at home how many people have fled the state of California to relocate to Florida.
At one point, he noted that Newsom’s in-laws were among the refugees.
“I was talking to a fella who had made the move from California to Florida, and he was telling me that Florida is much better governed, safer, better budget, lower taxes, all this stuff, and he’s really happy with the quality of life,” DeSantis said.
“And then he paused, and he said, ‘And oh, by the way, I’m Gavin Newsom’s father-in-law.’”
I was talking to a fella who had made the move from California to Florida. He was telling me that Florida’s much better governed, safer, better budget, lower taxes.
Then he paused and said ‘by the way, I’m Gavin Newsom’s father-in-law.’ pic.twitter.com/OSsYCRTJYo
— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) December 1, 2023
Newsom reacted to the comment with a grin.
Fox News reported that Newsom’s in-laws, Kenneth and Judith Siebel, moved to Florida in March 2020 at the start of the COVID pandemic. The couple lives in a $3.3 million estate in Naples.
4. DeSantis Forced Newsom to Acknowledge a Copy of the Infamous San Francisco “Poop Map”
For years, a website where users can track and report real-time sightings of human feces on the streets of San Francisco has generated headlines.
The so-called “poop map” is evidence of just how far one of America’s once-beautiful cities has fallen in the decades since Democrats seized full control of California. The City by the Bay that Steve Perry crooned about in Journey’s 1978 hit “Lights” is now a place where homeless people can be seen defecating out in the open.
On Thursday, DeSantis pulled a paper copy of the map from his jacket.
This is a map of San Francisco. There’s a lot of plots on that. You may be asking ‘what is that plotting?’
This is an app where they plot the human feces that are found on the streets of San Francisco.
That is what has happened in one of the previous greatest cities this… pic.twitter.com/otOz7dQxei
— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) December 1, 2023
“That is what has happened in one of the previous greatest cities this country’s ever had. Human feces is now a fact of life, except when a communist dictator comes to town,” he said, referring to Newsom’s sudden cleanup effort before a visit from Chinese President Xi Jinping.
3. DeSantis Noted That California Is Failing Despite Having Every Advantage
DeSantis recounted that during his time in the U.S. Navy, he was stationed at Coronado in Southern California.
“I was a lifelong Floridian, but I went there and I was like, ‘Man, this is one of the most beautiful places on earth,’” DeSantis said. “I think California has more natural advantages than any state in the country.
“You almost have to try to mess California up, and yet that’s what Gavin Newsom has done since he’s been governor,” he continued. “He’s the first governor to ever lose population. They actually at one point ran out of U-Hauls in the state of California because so many people were leaving.”
California has more natural advantages than any state in the country.
You almost have to try to mess California up — and yet that’s what Gavin Newsom has done since he’s been governor.
He’s the first governor to ever lose population. They actually at one point ran out of… pic.twitter.com/3cl6qfJ1k1
— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) December 1, 2023
Not only did California, a state rich in natural resources and blessed with mild weather, see a population decline in the 2020 census for the first time in its history, but it lost one of its 53 U.S. House seats during reapportionment.
2. DeSantis Asked Newsom to Defend Pornographic Books Stocked in California Schools
Recently, Democrats have falsely accused conservatives of “banning books,” as if Republicans across the country are holding burn rallies like those in early Nazi Germany.
There is of course no book ban in Florida or anywhere else, but during Thursday’s debate, Newsom couldn’t help but repeat the lie.
DeSantis knew the topic was coming, so he brought a page from the book “Genderqueer,” which is not permitted in Florida schools but is available in California.
“Some of it’s blacked out. You would not probably be able to put this on air. This is pornography. It’s cartoons, it’s aimed at children, and it’s wrong. So this should not be in schools,” he said.
DeSantis brings the receipts: “This is a book that’s in some of the schools in California called ‘Genderqueer.’ This is pornography. It’s cartoons. It’s aimed at children. And it’s wrong. This should not be in schools.” pic.twitter.com/6mqi0zaUG4
— TheBlaze (@theblaze) December 1, 2023
Hannity made numerous attempts to have Newsom explain why sexually explicit books should be read by schoolchildren. The Democrat deflected each time.
Wow. Gavin Newsom fails to answer when asked whether pornographic books belong in schools… pic.twitter.com/es9rWfhD7D
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) December 1, 2023
1. DeSantis Ripped Newsom Over California’s Prolonged COVID School Closures
One topic that demonstrates just how differently DeSantis and Newsom have governed their respective states since they both took office in 2019 is how they handled the COVID pandemic.
While most Florida students were back in class by the summer of 2020, Newsom and California Democrats fought parents to keep children at home. As a result, many of the state’s students are dangerously behind.
“You were a lockdown governor. You did a lot of damage to your people,” DeSantis told Newsom. “You had more kids locked out of school for a longer period of time in California than anywhere else in the country.
“It was the working-class kids, it was the middle-income kids. His kids were in private school. They were in class in person.”
Gavin Newsom had more kids locked out of school for a longer period of time in California than anywhere else in the country. It was working class kids.
His kids were in private school — they were in class in-person.
He is owned by the teacher’s union. pic.twitter.com/cIpesdK8RC
— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) December 1, 2023
DeSantis concluded, “He locked people out because of the teachers union. He is owned by the teachers union.”
Newsom was quick to move on from the topic of school closures.
According to the Public Policy Institute of California, the state’s schools were “closed for an average of 115 days into 2021.” Since that time, math and reading proficiency scores have plummeted among elementary school students.
Thursday was a rough night for Newsom, whose public feud with DeSantis finally saw him face off against his political nemesis.
Whether DeSantis can compete with Donald Trump in the upcoming GOP primary is irrelevant, as this debate was not about 2024.
It was a debate between the two factions fighting over which should lead the country forward. It was a debate between opposing views on morality, decency and governance.
DeSantis had the facts on his side, while Newsom volunteered to defend the indefensible — Biden’s failed agenda and the sad mess that is California.
