California governor takes issue with DeSantis over crime
On September 27, California's Democratic Governor - Gavin Newsom - offered his analysis of the latest debate amongst Republican presidential hopefuls, and once again it was Florida's Governor Ron DeSantis who took the brunt of Newsom's criticism.
The debate was held at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Newsom's home state. The candidates were unified in their criticism of the one-term former president Donald Trump, who was once again absent from the stage in spite of his ambition to secure a second term in the White House, but they were otherwise fiercely-competitive as each attempted to gain favor with voters.
Newsom was behind the scenes, offering his views on statements made by the candidates and it was after Florida's Ron DeSantis claimed to have met three victims of muggings in the state of California, that Newsom really let rip to CNN.
Newsom responded to the point made by DeSantis, live on air:
"He may want to familiarize himself with Miami, Florida and his homicide rates, which are 100% higher than San Francisco. He has a higher homicide rate statewide - 16% - than the state of California."
The California Democrat continued with his character-assassination of the Florida Republican:
"I find the hypocrisy, the unwillingness to be honest with the American people, and the unwillingness (of) Ron DeSantis to take responsibility for his own crime rates in his own major cities, I find that curious, not surprising."
The comments from Gavin Newsom are just the latest in a long line of criticisms levelled towards Florida's DeSantis as part of their long-running political feud.
The long-awaited Newsom-DeSantis debate
What Newsom really appears to be doing is to demonstrate how prepared he is to debate Florida's Ron DeSantis - something that he has been challenging for, for some time. On August 2, DeSantis finally gave in to the calls from Newsom, and the pair looked set to debate in a moderated conversation to be hosted on network TV.
The debate has finally been confirmed following rumors that Newsom was in trouble with senior Democrats for a move that might be seen as putting his own ambitions ahead of those of the party.
DeSantis had previously dodged the debate, claiming that he wasn't prepared to take part given that Newsom hadn't even entered into the race for the presidential nomination for his party.
In late 2022 around the midterm elections DeSantis had responded to the effect that he was concerned that California power companies wouldn't be able to sustain the electricity supply to televise the debate. But now it would seem like the debate is finally going to happen.
The ongoing beef between the two continues
Whether the debate will serve any real purpose in putting an end to the ongoing feud between DeSantis and Newsom, remains to be seen.
It goes back a long way, but came to the fore after Newsom ran a series of TV adverts in Florida, claiming that 'freedom is under attack in Florida'. The adverts drew a cynical response from DeSantis who claimed to see more Californian license plates in the Sunshine State than ever before.
DeSantis has made his share of digs against Newsom too, and in August taunted the California governor over his state's policies regarding electric vehicles and whether this was even technically viable.
With so many differences already aired, it seems like the debate between them could be intense!
Do you think that Florida's Ron DeSantis should debate with Gavin Newsom? Who will win? Let me know your thoughts in the comments section below.
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