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Gov. Gavin Newsom in Hannity interview. (Photo: Katy Grimes for California Globe)

Newsom-DeSantis Debate Reaction Proves To Be All Over The Map

Praise, jeers for both candidates

By Evan Symon, December 1, 2023 12:18 pm

The long awaited “Great Red vs. Blue State Debate” between California Governor Gavin Newsom and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Thursday night brought a varied reaction from media outlets and political figures, with both praise and jeers being directed towards both Governors afterwards.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaking at the 2021 Student Action Summit hosted by Turning Point USA at the Tampa Convention Center, July 18, 2021. (Photo: Gage Skidmore)

As the Globe reported Thursday night and early Friday, the Sean Hannity-moderated debate held in Georgia and aired on Fox News was one based heavily on facts, visuals, and well-documented statistics. Of particular note was when Governor DeSantis surprised Governor Newsom with an app map showing where human feces is found throughout the the city of San Francisco.

“This is a map of San Francisco,” said DeSantis. “There’s a lot of plots on that. You may be asking, what is that plotting? Well, this is an app where they plot the human feces that are found on the streets of San Francisco.”

“And you see how almost the whole thing is covered. Because 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. Then they cleaned up the streets.”

Both Governors also fired back at each other using not only heavy research, but also recent, negative news stories and incidents in each others states. In addition to the feces issue in San Francisco, DeSantis targeted incidents such as the I-10 freeway fire in Los Angeles, while Newsom went after DeSantis on signing restrictive sexual orientation and abortion measures.

“Gavin Newsom, at one point, he tried to say that California was the Freedom State. I just kind of laughed, like, you’re locking people down during the coronavirus, you’re doing all this,” added DeSantis. “And then I thought about it — you know, California does have freedoms that some people, that other states don’t.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaking at the 2021 Student Action Summit hosted by Turning Point USA at the Tampa Convention Center, July 18, 2021. (Photo: Gage Skidmore)

“You have the freedom to defecate in public in California, you have the freedom to pitch a tent on Sunset Boulevard. You have the freedom to create a homeless encampment under a freeway and even light it on fire. You have the freedom to have an open air drug market and use drugs. You have the freedom if you’re an legal alien to get all these taxpayer benefits. They’re not the freedoms our Founding Fathers envision, but they have contributed to the destruction of the quality of life in California. And the results speak for themselves. People are leaving the state because politicians there have failed in addressing the homeless population.

“In California you had Disney closed inexplicably for over a year. You were a lock-down Governor.”

Newsom, in response, retorted saying “I mean, here’s a guy who is criminalizing teachers criminalizing doctors, criminalizing librarians and criminalizing women that seek their reproductive care. You’re making it harder to vote, you’re banning books. I mean, spare me this notion of freedom. I think it’s an interesting campaign strategy for Ron DeSantis to be bashing a state of 40 million Americans when California simply has no peers.

“Let’s talk about your record on COVID. You pass an emergency declaration before the state of California did. You closed down your beaches, your bars, your restaurants. It’s a fact. You had quarantines — you had quarantines, you had checkpoints all over the state of Florida. By the way, I didn’t say that. Donald Trump laid you out on this. He followed science. He followed Fauci.”

Reaction and debate winners

On Thursday night and Friday, reactions poured in online. Who won or lost, or more often stated in articles and tweets, who did a better job, varied wildly. Outlets like The Guardian said the Newsom did a better job and showed why DeSantis would never be President. Similarly, the Washington Post had an article on Friday saying that DeSantis finally got to debate his COVID record with someone in a debate, with it not going well. The LA Times pretty much declared Newsom the winner since he didn’t have much to lose and even pointed to one quote from the debate in particular that did it for them.

“There is one thing that we have in common,” quoted the Times of Newsom in the debate. “Neither of us will be the nominee for our party in 2024.”

Conversely, other outlets pegged DeSantis as the overall winner. Fox News, for example, noted that DeSantis “destroyed” Newsom in the debate. USA Today said the DeSantis did a better job of showing why his state was doing better. And some surprise support for DeSantis overnight came from survivors and parental survivors of the 2018 Parkland school Shooting, who threw their support behind DeSantis over his stance on firearms.

“My daughter died in the Parkland mass shooting,” said Andrew Pollack, whose child was killed in the shooting. “Ron DeSantis was not even Governor when it happened, but I’m sure as hell glad he became Governor shortly after. Governor DeSantis fired the incompetent people responsible, he didn’t demonize lawful gun owners. Newsom is trash!”

Other outlets simply had neither candidate doing well in particular. The New York Times fact-checked throughout the debate and found many statements by both Governors to be misleading or false. The San Francisco Chronicle said that “unhinged male rage” was the winner on Thursday. NPR put it more bluntly and said that the debate likely would not change anyone’s minds on the candidates.

But the most common thought of the night wasn’t who won or lost, but how the debate was only a preview of what the 2028 election could be. NBC, Time, and most other larger news outlets noted this in their coverage.

Analysts told the Globe on Friday that the debate being a preview of debates in 2028 was on point, but that the debate was ultimately a victory for both for one reason: attention.

“Newsom really wants to stay relevant in the next five years, especially between 2026 and 2028, and DeSantis needed a big media boost going into the upcoming caucuses and primaries,” said Dean Campbell, a debate coach and advisor in Washington, to the Globe. “Neither disappointed.”

“Newsom and DeSantis did that at times, but they kept letting other things get in the way. DeSantis was being too spontaneous, like bringing out pieces of paper and things like that, and kept going after California at every turn. In presidential debates, he needs to be more fair and nuanced. Trump and other Republicans know this about bashing other states. Criticize of course, but also offer solutions and praise things you like about the state in question. You still want the people to be behind you, as well as, you know, get the state in the primary and fundraise in those areas. Democratic candidates do the same in Texas and other red states.

“As for Newsom, he needs to do better with facts. DeSantis was pulling them out all night. Newsom had some, but he really needed more to bring it home. His team did a good job in predicting where the questioning would go, but didn’t follow through with counters. You can’t quip your way out of everything. You get out of a jam, by giving facts and, most importantly, sourcing them. Like “Well Governor, that isn’t true. According to the State Department this year…” and go from there. Some of it is memorization, but if you are giving a lot of speeches, you should build it up.

“Both Governors have a lot to learn from this debate. But both also know how to debate each other more effectively now. Newsom can better counter curveballs in the future now, especially from big-name Republicans whom he really never got to debate much in California. And DeSantis got a valuable offbeat debate which can prepare him better to debate Trump next year. But they also both one in getting attention. That’s something you can’t take away from them.”

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8 thoughts on “Newsom-DeSantis Debate Reaction Proves To Be All Over The Map

  1. Newsom makes it harder to run secure elections in California. Illegal ballots entering the system disenfranchises legal voters. Therefore, how do Newsom’s illegal ballot cancellations of legal ballots increase voter participation?

    Is Newsom counting both illegal ballots cast along with legal ballots cast as his total “voter participation”?
    Newsom is a rank liar and opportunist. He is going no where outside his inbred SEIU and teachers union safe harbor that he crafted in this state only.

  2. As a long time former resident in California, I would agree with both Governors, and as a pensioner from California, my dollar does go further in almost every state except New Yawk.
    The lack of accountability has given the state over to entities that do it for law enforcement, the drug cartels. It is almost as the state counts on this as a strategy..
    DeSantis is a lawyer (Navy), and Newsome is a salesman.
    If you like being the top dog in a pi$$ing match, I guess you could pick a winner.

    Many former residents of both states make decisions on the circumstances of their life, because most have to function in this world and raise families.
    Mr Newsome will never understand this, nor seem to try.
    Mr DeSantis wants to ram it down your throat.

    The sad fact about hot button issues is one thing makes most minds sway to one or the other.
    It used to be (think Bush/Gore or before) most candidates had no difference except guns and abortion. Now there is lots more to appeal to the low information voter, and poop map apps are things they remember, and Newsome’s “we have no peer” comments will haunt him in a few years.

    Public Safety used to be a priority for any candidate, and some Governors or Presidents know once they term out they can ramp up any agenda they promised their donors, even if it bankrupts their state, ethically, morally, or spiritually…

  3. The website Zerohedge has an article listing the biggest lies used by Newsom during the debate:

    (https://www.zerohedge.com/political/biggest-lies-used-gavin-newsom-his-debate-ron-desantis)

    The article finished with this thought: “Newsom’s strength is his ability to lie with a smile on his face, and this says a lot about him as well as the people who support him. America is suffocating under the weight of spin doctors, we don’t need yet another.”

  4. I watched Jesse Watters on Fox. He ran a clip from The View and Sunny Hostin was swooning over how presidential Gavin Newsom looked. He then had a clip from CNN showing the hosts praising his looks and charisma. If this is how shallow these people are, I am really frightened that people actually want this man as the POTUS, based on his looks. It doesn’t seem to matter what he’s done to California.

    He laughs at you while he lies. I only hope the rest of the country sees him for what he is.

    My God, he makes my skin crawl.

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