Ron Desantis (Governor of Florida) met with Gavin Newsom (Governor of California) for the Fox Great Red vs Blue State debate. The debate lasted more than 90 minutes with Desantis repeating himself multiple times and Newsom making up facts about his state. It included arguments, insults, crosstalks, and a few props. They debated over important issues including crime, public safety, abortion access, the economy, immigration, and more.
Throughout the duration of the debate the two talked over one another for minutes claiming that the other was lying. The host at one point urged them not to force him to be a “hall monitor,” a plea that mostly went unheeded. On COVID-19, the governors battled for space to accuse each other of implementing harmful policies during the height of the pandemic. “You had quarantines, you had checkpoints,” Newsom said at one point. “False,” DeSantis fired back.
One of the most interesting conversations of the night came amid the discussion of Florida’s Parental Rights in Education Act — frequently referred to by critics as the “Don’t Say Gay” law, though its supporters say it’s shielding children from inappropriate topics. DeSantis has supported the legislation, which restricts discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in K-12 classrooms.
At one point in the debate, Ron pulled out a photo from the graphic novel “Gender Queer: A Memoir,” which depicted a sex scene. “Some of it is blacked out. You would not probably be able to put this on air,”. “This is pornography. It’s cartoons. … This should not be in schools.” DeSantis also said that schools should “educate kids, not indoctrinate kids.” Newsom shot back that DeSantis was using the law to wage a culture war as DeSantis disputed how many books have been banned in his state. Newsom said: “1,406 books have been banned just last year under Ron DeSantis’ leadership. He went on to accuse the Florida governor of using “education as a sword for your cultural purge.”
The debate turned to focus on violence and safety, Hannity showed FBI numbers looking at the combined rate of homicide, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault in 2022. The combined rate showed Florida is lower than the national average while California is above. Newsom emphasized that California has its lowest crime rate in 50 years. He also pointed out that Florida has a higher murder rate compared to California. The governor also highlighted the 2018 school shooting in Parkland, Florida, where 17 kids were killed. He argued that DeSantis later made it easier for some people to purchase weapons, referring to the legislation signed earlier this year by the Florida governor, which allows Floridians the ability to carry concealed guns without a permit. “This is a slick politician,” DeSantis said. “People are leaving California in droves, largely because public safety has collapsed”.
Almost immediately, Newsom took the mantle of defending Biden’s policies, making himself a surrogate for the president. That seemed to fit perfectly with DeSantis’ strategy of positioning himself as a foil to Newsom and, by extension, trying to show himself capable of taking on Biden as an opponent. “This is the vision of Biden-Harris-Newsom: open borders, Americans suffer,” DeSantis said at one point during a discussion of immigration. That theme repeated itself throughout the night and played to both men’s desire to appear as national-caliber candidates willing to embrace big fights.
While Newsom is viewed as a likely candidate for future presidential races, he repeated Thursday night that he had no intention of running in 2024 and is supporting Biden. “There’s one thing … that we have in common,” Newsom said. “Neither of us will be the nominee for our party in 2024.” In closing, Hannity praised both men for taking part in the debate and asked whether they would agree to battle again at some point in the near future.
