Governor of California Gavin Newsom was the only significant political person who spent the most time in the GOP debate Spin Room. Newsom is not even a Republican.
Speaking for Joe Biden’s reelection bid, Newsom engaged in a verbal spat with Sean Hannity on Fox News’ Hannity, had a conversation with CNN’s Dana Bash, and spoke with Rachel Maddow on MSNBC. He responded to inquiries regarding his own potential run for president, spoke out in favor of California, lauded the new WGA-AMPTP agreement, and even offered his opinion on the Travis Kelce-Taylor Swift controversy. For the seven candidates who took part, “it was the XFL, the JV team,” according to Newsom.
Vivek Ramaswamy, Tim Scott, Mike Pence, and Doug Burghum were some of the actual candidates who stood on stage and spent considerable time in the spin room, but Newsom also conducted a series of Spin Room interviews before the debate in front of a crowd of reporters and television cameras.
The Spin Room itself is the only opportunity for the vast majority of media covering any debate to speak with the candidates and their staff. The media is situated outside the debate’s actual debating venue unless a journalist works for the network that is sponsoring the debate. In the instance of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, the discussion took place in a roomy pavilion that is home to Air Force One, while media were positioned in a sizable tent on the opposite side of the campus. The Spin Room, down a flight of steps from a library cafe, was in the middle, after passing through an additional stage of security.
While staff members held placards naming the campaign executives available for interviews, network setups lined the walls of the room.
The Spin Room’s goal is to amplify what the candidates stated on stage or to make up for a debate blunder or low point, despite how crowded it can get. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was one of the first candidates to enter the room following the debate, and while he praised his own performance, he was scarcely a fan of the actual event, in which the candidates often talked over one another and participated in heated exchanges. He said to Hannity, “I would have changed the channel if I were at home watching that.”
Kari Lake, a Trump surrogate, yelled at a reporter who inquired about the rules governing abortion. You don’t appear to be particularly smart. Actually, you look very stupid,” she remarked before moving on.
Chris Christie and DeSantis both criticized her for supporting Trump’s decision to miss the debate, the latter of whom referred to the previous president as “Donald Duck.”
It makes no sense for a man who is leading in the polls to appear and debate the junior high debate team, according to Lake, who told Deadline: “I know he doesn’t lack courage.” “There are seven people on that stage participating in some bizarre vanity project.”
There have been rumors that Newsom is advancing his presidential ambitions as his national reputation has increased. He has made an effort to brush those off, most notably while confronting Biden, and he repeated the effort with Hannity.
You want this in your heart and mind, Hannity continued, but you’ve essentially been on a media tour endorsing Joe Biden, and you know he’s a mental wreck. You’re aware of it.
Newsom smiled and added, “I also know he has a remarkable track to run on, and I couldn’t be more proud.”
In fact, Newsom will soon get the opportunity to argue when he takes part in a Hannity and Fox News event, a one-on-one debate with DeSantis on November 30 branded as “Red State vs. Blue State.” The technicalities are still being worked out, such as audience size.
In The Spin Room, Newsom responded to DeSantis’ criticism of California for having a crime problem by bringing up the homicide numbers in Jacksonville and Miami. This gave viewers a sneak peek of what to expect.
Elex Michaelson, a reporter for Fox 11 Los Angeles, asked Newsom to clarify his remark that DeSantis “took the bait” by accepting the invitation to the event in November.
Newsom said to Deadline, “Why would you debate a California governor who isn’t running for president of the United States while he is running for president of the United States? He released an advertisement today highlighting the debate against me rather than his presidential campaign. It’s an additional sideshow. Consider Trump’s approach to handling this. Talking about this being a JV game, which it is, he will have the time of his life.