California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis turned their feud over blue and crimson state insurance policies private Thursday, clashing for greater than 90 minutes over crime, taxes, COVID-19 pandemic insurance policies, immigration, guide bans and different divisive points in an unorthodox debate that each males hoped would propel their nationwide political ambitions.
California has “failed due to his leftist ideology,” DeSantis mentioned of Newsom, whom he known as a “slick politician.”
“There’s one factor … that now we have in widespread,” Newsom mentioned. “Neither of us would be the nominee for our celebration in 2024.”
The discussion board in Georgia between the liberal Democrat and the conservative Republican, hosted by Sean Hannity on Fox News, culminated months of shadow boxing between the 2 governors, who’ve used their states’ opposing partisan approaches to governing to assault one another.
Newsom was on the defensive for a lot of the controversy as Hannity centered on taxes, crime, late-term abortions, California’s excessive fuel costs and different subjects on which conservatives consider they’ve the higher hand politically. Newsom responded by ignoring or reframing lots of the questions.
DeSantis, who has seen his once-promising presidential marketing campaign sag, acknowledged a chance to take down the chief of essentially the most distinguished Democratic-led state, which he attacked as a bastion of unhinged progressive insurance policies which have led to lawlessness and mass departures.
Learn extra: California vs. Florida: The Newsom-DeSantis rivalry is part of an epic culture war
Newsom, who might run for president in 2028, noticed a chance to cement his fame as a warrior for Democratic values, unafraid of Fox Information and Republicans, as he savaged DeSantis’ imaginative and prescient of freedom as phony in a state the place books are banned and abortion rights are curtailed.
The dangers for each males had been clear. Some viewers may even see the apparent downgrade in DeSantis’ marketing campaign as he battles a governor who shouldn’t be operating for president, as a substitute of former President Trump, the overwhelming favourite to win the GOP nomination, or President Biden, the person he hopes to finally unseat. Newsom may come off as too longing for consideration and overconfident in believing he may dispatch DeSantis, who got here properly ready, in a debate moderated by Hannity.
It’s unclear whether or not Thursday’s debate will change minds on coverage. However viewers received a transparent distinction in a nation the place variations are extra usually being performed out within the states, that are more and more dominated by a single celebration.
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This story initially appeared in Los Angeles Times.