Feud between Newsom and DeSantis headed for the Fox News debate stage

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, left, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will debate on Nov. 30..

By Taryn LunaStaff Writer

Sept. 25, 2023 2:40 PM PT

At long last, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will get a showdown on a public stage.

Fox News announced on Monday that Sean Hannity will moderate a 90-minute debate between the two bitter rivals on Nov. 30. The debate will take place in Georgia and air on Hannity’s show.

“We’ve agreed to the debate — provided there is no cheering section, no hype videos or any other crutches DeSantis requested,” said Nathan Click, a spokesperson for Newsom. “We want a real debate — not a circus.”

The spectacle will come in the midst of a contentious Republican presidential contest, offering America an odd sideshow in an already unusual political season dominated by former President Trump’s campaign to return to the White House while fighting criminal charges in Florida, New York, Washington, D.C., and Georgia.

DeSantis and other Republican presidential contenders, minus Trump, will face off in their own debate Wednesday in Simi Valley, with Newsom deployed as a surrogate for Joe Biden as the president seeks a second term.

For DeSantis, the two debates provide an opportunity to boost his floundering effort to overtake Trump. The contest with Newsom comes after years of sniping between the two coastal governors, a feud DeSantis said epitomized a “great experiment in governing philosophy” in blue versus red America.

DeSantis posted a video on X, formerly known as Twitter, criticizing California and promoting Florida on Monday.

“Decline is a choice and success is attainable,” DeSantis said in a tweet accompanying the video. “As President, I will lead America’s revival. I look forward to the opportunity to debate Gavin Newsom over our very different visions for the future of our country.”

Newsom has tried to lure DeSantis into a public spat for more than a year, trolling him at nearly every opportunity.

Newsom has repeatedly accused DeSantis of being a right-wing “bully” intent on erasing civil rights victories, abortion laws, immigrant protections and hard-won LGTBQ+ rights. DeSantis blames Newsom for “leftist policies” that turned California into what he paints as a lawless, high-tax wasteland with rampant homelessness, crime and drugs.

For Newsom, wading onto the debate stage against DeSantis on conservative Fox News adds to his effort to bolster his national image as a warrior for Democratic values, unafraid of going to battle against the right for the future of America.

Newsom has launched his own campaign to rally support for Democratic candidates and lash out at what he castigates as a fundamentalist, draconian Republican agenda.

Newsom has continually doused speculation that he could be eyeing a 2024 White House run. Biden has elevated the governor’s role in his own campaign, tapping Newsom as an official surrogate to push back on the GOP candidates before and after the Republican debate on Wednesday.

Newsom joined a press call with former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) on Monday, where he described the difference between the two parties as “daylight and darkness.”

He said the GOP candidates stand “in stark contrast to the progress that we’ve all enjoyed over the last half century.”

DeSantis’ communications director, Andrew Romeo, took a shot at the Florida governor’s Democratic rivals in a statement on Monday.

“Whether Newsom or Biden is the Democrat nominee in ‘24, they both offer the same failed and dangerous ideology for America that helped get us in this mess,” Romeo said.

DeSantis’ decision to debate another governor could make him look less like a serious contender in the presidential race, said Mike Madrid, a former political director for the California GOP and one of the party’s most vocal critics of Trump.

“It’s pure desperation,” Madrid said. “He’s admitting that his campaign is in deep, deep trouble.”

A Republican National Committee spokesperson said the debate would not run afoul of the party’s rules prohibiting unsanctioned presidential primary debates because Newsom is neither a presidential candidate nor a Republican.

Though DeSantis has been deft at raising money, his support from voters has eroded, recent polls show. Trump is primed to trounce DeSantis and the rest of the Republican field if his lead holds through the presidential primaries next year.

Stooping to a debate with Newsom does give DeSantis an opportunity to pump life into his national profile and burnish his image as an anti-”woke” GOP warrior — but it’s a high-risk move, Madrid said.

“When you start punching down in politics, if you don’t throw a knockout punch, then you basically lose the match,” Madrid said. “Because otherwise not only have you elevated somebody else, but you brought yourself down a few notches, and he doesn’t have any notches to go down.”

The debate will mark the second time Newsom has been able to secure an audience of Fox News viewers — and attack DeSantis — this year.

In an interview with Hannity in June, Newsom needled the Florida governor by declaring that Trump will “clean his clock” in the GOP presidential primary. On that show, Newsom immediately accepted Hannity’s challenge to go toe to toe with DeSantis.

Newsom has made it his mission to draw attention to and combat far-right policies over the last year, and pushing back on DeSantis has been central to his effort. He began pestering the Florida governor to agree to debate him a year ago.

The California governor drew national headlines when he ran a reelection ad in Florida last summer comparing laws in red states and his own state on abortion, banned books and other topics.

In April, DeSantis signed a bill into law banning abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. The California Constitution guarantees the right to an abortion, and Newsom has beckoned women from other states to come for services that are outlawed elsewhere.

He’s also criticized DeSantis for banning instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity in Florida schools, legislation critics refer to as “Don’t Say Gay.”

After DeSantis went to battle against Disney and took control of government services in the Disney World theme park district because the company publicly opposed the law, Newsom posted a video of himself at Disneyland in Anaheim at the first LGBTQ+ Pride Night.

Newsom called DeSantis “a small, pathetic man” and threatened kidnapping charges after DeSantis’ administration helped transport migrants from Texas to California.

Newsom’s political team sent a proposal for a “Red v. Blue” debate to Hannity on July 28, saying the governor welcomed a discussion on how “Democratic policies are delivering real results for the American people.”

DeSantis accepted the debate challenge in an interview with Hannity, but the two sides have disagreed over whether to allow an audience in the live studio and whether to include prerecorded or in-person opening statements. The debate announcement on Monday was short on logistical details.

“I’m looking forward to providing viewers with an informative debate about the everyday issues and governing philosophies that impact the lives of every American,” Hannity said in a statement.

Times staff writer Noah Bierman contributed to this report.

Feud between Newsom and DeSantis headed for the Fox News debate stage

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