Douglas-Lincoln This was not the case, even though either man would probably welcome the opportunity even to be mentioned together.
There was a political debate on Thursday night in Georgia, but it wasn’t between two contenders for president. Rather, it was a contest between a governor and a presidential candidate, as well as another governor who may be a contender.
Governors Ron DeSantis of Florida, the Republican nominee for president in 2024, and Gavin Newsom of California, the Democrat, were on one side of the debate.
It appeared to be a presidential debate, for sure. A moderator, two politicians, and even an entire set designed to resemble one were positioned at lecterns.
However, this was a result of television, more especially Fox News and host Sean Hannity. A few months back, Newsom made headlines for an animated interview with Hannity.
Hannity appeared to enjoy their exchanges, and they developed an unusual bond on cable. Soon after, Hannity asked DeSantis to participate in a “debate” with Newsom, and he accepted since he appeared to be the main contender to succeed the outgoing President Trump.
Thus, this occasion came to be. What have we discovered?
Once more, Newsom emphasized that he is not running, at least not at this time
The governor of California hasn’t held back when arguing for a left-of-center vision for the nation. His hair and flawless whites have never seemed to meet a camera they didn’t like.
Though President Biden is already running for reelection, it has given rise to rumors that Newsom is essentially running a shadow campaign and is standing by in case he decides not to run.
During Thursday night’s debate, Newsom made repeated attempts to refute that idea.
“There are significant distinctions tonight, and I’m pleased to engage them,” Newsom stated, “but one thing that we do have in common is never of us will be the nominee for our party in 2024.”
Even within his own party, some people still don’t believe the loyal surrogate act, despite Newsom’s defense of Biden, as he has done in all of his other public appearances and interviews this year.
Ironically, Democratic senator from Pennsylvania John Fetterman, who is from Iowa, the site of the first caucus state, stated earlier this month that “there are two additional Democrats running for…… president right now.” “One is a congressman from Minnesota, and the other one is the governor of California, yet only one has the guts to announce it.”
That would be Representative Dean Phillips of Minnesota.
“I don’t know how often I can say it, but I appreciate and respect the job that the president is doing,” Newsom remarked during the debate. This whole thing about a shadow campaign is just fiction.
In actuality, Newsom has thrown himself into the presidential race. If he isn’t trying to win this cycle, as he claims, he seems to be planning to do so for 2028, when Trump and Biden are expected to be out of office.
For DeSantis, the stakes were higher because he was running
DeSantis is running out of time.
There are just 44 days left until the Iowa caucuses, and DeSantis needs to do well there because he is far behind Trump.
Even though his team was pleased with his performance and included the praise of numerous conservative commentators, it’s unclear if he accomplished enough with this appearance to help himself close the gap.
However, DeSantis’s task was made more difficult by Newsom’s apparent intent to undermine DeSantis’ campaign in addition to his desire to debate which of their governing ideologies is superior.
“Joe Biden is going to be our nominee in a matter of weeks,” Newsom stated, “and in a matter of weeks, Sean, will be endorsing Donald Trump to be the nominee for the Republican Party.”
This was said at another point: “When are you going to withdraw and at the very least give Nikki Haley a chance to unseat Donald Trump over his nomination? She presented you to us.”
It was obvious that Newsom was attempting to irritate DeSantis, and at times, it seemed like he succeeded.
Newsom gave his best performance at one point when the two men were talking over one another and the volume increased. Joe Cool turned to DeSantis, threw open his hands, and grinned, saying, “Hey, Ron, relax.”
DeSantis made an effort to debate a man who had nothing to lose, but it’s difficult.
In addition to the jabs, DeSantis criticized Newsom for his tenure as governor of California.
And there was no better setting for DeSantis to do so. It should come as no surprise that the subjects seemed to support his viewpoint given the platform. They included:
Why are people leaving California, what are the issues surrounding taxes, immigration, violent crime, parental rights in schools, did Newsom support abortion restrictions, does Biden exhibit “cognitive decline,” would Newsom run for president if asked at the Democratic convention the following year, why is gas so expensive in California, and what is the situation with homelessness?
DeSantis was more than pleased to compare his state to Newsom’s, riding high on a conservative platform and with that wind in his corner.
If Newsom does choose to run at some point, he will face obstacles due to his “California liberal” reputation. DeSantis also made a jab at some family connections.
“I was conversing with an individual who had relocated from California to Florida,” DeSantis remarked prior to introducing his punchline. “He told me that Florida’s more effectively governed, safer, better budget, lower taxes, and then he paused and said, ‘By the way, I’m Gavin Newsom’s father-in-law.'”
Zing.
Kenneth F. Siebel Jr., Newsom’s father-in-law, is an investment manager and a seasoned GOP donor, according to a Fox News report. Last year, a pro-DeSantis PAC received funding from a family trust.
DeSantis emphasized that Biden, the opponent he hopes to face in the general election of the following year, aspires to replicate the California model for the entire country.
Newsom responded quickly, accusing DeSantis of bullying marginalized people, Florida’s tax system harming working people, and Florida’s six-week abortion ban violating women’s reproductive rights.
DeSantis accused him of lying to you about all these numbers and facts, “throwing stuff out so you can see what sticks to the wall.” This politician is cunning and slippery.”
In addition, DeSantis attacked Newsom with provocative remarks regarding the argument over books in classrooms and, in his words, the filth of California’s cities. He claimed that sexual acts were being shown in California schools in what appeared to be a page from a comic book with partially blacked-out images, and he brought onto the stage a map of, well, poop, which he claimed was from an app that showed parts of San Francisco.
You most likely didn’t have your mind changed if you liked or didn’t like one of the two going in
Two ideologies with diametrically opposed approaches to governance could not exist: DeSantis’s Florida and Newsom’s California.
As indicated by the themes discussed, if you’re a conservative, you probably use California as a symbol for everything that’s wrong with America.
However, if you’re on the left, you probably think DeSantis and his administration are disgusting.
Seeing this debate probably didn’t make a difference.
Even though neither of these men will likely win the presidency in 2024, this could be a preview of the following presidential cycle, when the nation will have moved past Trump and Biden and there could be a chance for a political revolution in the United States. In this cycle, candidates will have to confront each other in a clash of governing ideologies on a real presidential debate stage.