California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) and his team have seemingly become irritated that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) accepted their challenge. Newsom has repeatedly attacked the Republican presidential candidate for months, trying to gain more national attention, and has been continuously challenging DeSantis to debate.
Newsom stated in an interview with Fox News that he was “all in” to debate DeSantis. He also said that he could go up to three hours and only needed “one day’s notice with no notes.” To Newsom’s surprise, DeSantis decided to take him up on the offer.
DeSantis accepted his challenge while being interviewed by Sean Hannity, “Let’s get it done.” He added, “Just tell me when and where we’ll do it.” Newsom’s team sent out a proposal that was actually three months out instead of Newsom’s “one-day notice” claim.
Ron DeSantis agrees to debate Gavin Newsom on Fox News https://t.co/b1nqXjKFLD
— POLITICO (@politico) August 3, 2023
Both parties agreed that Hannity would be the moderator, and the debate would last 90 minutes in front of a live audience. There will be no help from staff, and both governors will get equal speaking time. It’s also required that they both refrain from interrupting each other. Closing statements can’t be longer than two minutes.
DeSantis didn’t want opening remarks but proposed that each gov. submits a two-minute video that would be aired before the debate. Newsom isn’t comfortable with an audience. DeSantis suggested they do so and split the tickets evenly.
The two proposed different states for the debate. Georgia was the only one they had in common. DeSantis proposed much earlier dates for the challenge and included one later option. That late option matched Newsom’s earliest availability date. DeSantis wanted to debate sooner than Newsom.
Even though Newsom’s team shutters at the thought of a live audience, they still drug DeSantis through the mud once they saw his debate counterproposal. They called it a “joke,” stating that DeSantis’s proposal is littered with “crutches to hide his insecurity and ineptitude.”
A Newsom spokesperson said, “Ron should be able to stand on his own two feet. It’s no wonder Trump is kicking his a–.” Ironically enough, 54% of Democrats surveyed said Newsom shouldn’t run for president. California voters agreed, with 7 out of 10 saying he shouldn’t try to run for president either.
