Reports have shed light on an unusual connection alleged to exist between two U.S. governors on opposite ends of the political spectrum and in the midst of a bitter feud.
According to a Tuesday report from Fox News, California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s in-laws donated to the campaign of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis through their family trust.
Campaign contribution records of the Friends of Ron DeSantis PAC confirm that the Siebel Family Revocable Trust, which is operated by Kenneth F. Siebel Jr. and Judith A. Siebel, parents of Jennifer Siebel Newsom, Newsom’s wife, made a $5,000 donation in April.
Siebel Newsom is a former Republican who changed her registration in 2008. “I grew up in a household that really revered Reagan,” Siebel Newsom said in 2018, according to SFGate.
“I think my father’s issue was predominantly a fiscally conservative point of view,” she continued, adding that although her father is a conservative, he did not vote for former President Donald Trump in 2016. It seems, however, that Kenneth Siebel is definitely a DeSantis supporter.
Records obtained by Fox confirmed that Kenneth and Judith Siebel are in charge of the Siebel Family Revocable Trust.
Fox reported that Kenneth Siebel has a long history of fiscal conservative advocacy and donations. Siebel has donated to prominent Republican Sens. Ron Johnson, Tom Cotton and Josh Hawley of Wisconsin, Arkansas and Missouri, respectively.
According to Fox, neither Newsom, DeSantis nor Siebel responded to requests for comment.
The ongoing feud that has developed between Newsom and DeSantis has been very well documented.
Do you think DeSantis should run for president?
Yes: 76% (90 Votes)
No: 24% (28 Votes)
Newsom has aired attack ads in Florida making the claim that “freedom is under attack” under DeSantis, urging residents to flee to California, according to The Washington Times. DeSantis responded that he sees plenty of California license plates in Florida.
KTTV-TV reported last week that the California governor revealed he had donated $100,000 to former Florida governor and Democrat Charlie Crist, DeSantis’ opponent in his upcoming race, telling reporters that he doesn’t support candidates who “demean people.”
.@GavinNewsom gives $100K to @RonDeSantisFL‘s opponent, @CharlieCrist.
“I like Charlie Crist & I don’t like bullies.”
Newsom says when he was a kid, DeSantis would have had “his mouth washed out with soap.”
“If that’s the future of the [GOP], this country is in real trouble.” pic.twitter.com/y0634l72dd
— Elex Michaelson (@Elex_Michaelson) August 25, 2022
“You want to ask what my ‘why’ is in life? I don’t like bullies,” Newsom said. “Who the hell raised these guys? What kind of people are they?”
DeSantis responded mischievously when, according to Bloomberg, he said during a July media briefing, “Everyone wants to talk about me and Florida. … I’m just sitting here, little old me, doing my job.”
“In Florida, we weren’t locking them down,” DeSantis said, referring to the two governors’ vastly different strategies for responding to the COVID panic. “We lifted our people up. We made sure to protect individuals’ freedoms.”
He followed up by adding that Californians are being driven away by “terrible governance.”
“It’s almost hard to drive people out of a place like California given all their natural advantages, and yet they’re finding a way to do it,” DeSantis said, citing California’s ongoing crises of crime, homelessness and drugs that he argues have “destroyed” parts of the state.
“When families are uprooting from the Pacific coast to go almost 3,000 miles in search of a better life, that’s telling you something.”
