- DeSantis told DailyMail.com that Newsom and Xi Jinping are ‘two peas in a pod’
- The 2024 hopeful said he is “ready” for the debate with Newsom next month
- Newsom met with Xi in China on Wednesday amid rising tensions
Ron DeSantis was not surprised when California Governor Gavin Newsom met with Chinese President Xi Jinping last week, claiming the leaders are “two peas in a pod.”
The Florida governor and 2024 hopeful told DailyMail.com that Newsom and Xi took a similarly tough approach when it came to suppressing those they govern or lead amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
DeSantis has been highly critical of Newsom’s trip to China, saying it sends the wrong message that America is willing to “crawl” at the authoritarian leader’s feet as China-Russia tensions with the West continue to rise.
On Wednesday, Governor Newsom became the first governor in more than four years to travel to China and the first since 2017 to meet with Xi. The last person Xi met was then California Governor Jerry Brown.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis told DailyMail.com that California Governor Gavin Newsom and Chinese President Xi Jinping are “two peas in a row” when it comes to hard COVID lockdowns. The 2024 hopeful said he is “ready” for the debate with Newsom next month
The trip was sold as a way to talk to Chinese officials about climate action, economic development and human rights issues.
But critics say the optics of the meeting are deeply troubling.
“When I saw the pictures, I thought about – you know, these are guys who are two peas in a pod when it comes to COVID, the draconian COVID policies,” DeSantis told DailyMail.com when discussing his thoughts upon discovering that Newsom went to China to meet Xi.
“They both had very long lockdowns that limited people’s ability to work, go to school and things like that,” the Florida governor added during a speech in Las Vegas, Nevada.
“I know California because a lot of people fled to Florida because of what he did.”
Many 2024 candidates, including DeSantis, see China as the biggest emerging threat to America when it comes to both national security and competition.
Newsom, while not running for president in the 2024 Democratic primary, will debate DeSantis next month.
The two plan to meet in Georgia on November 30 for a 90-minute debate endorsed by Fox News and hosted by their longtime commentator Sean Hannity.
“We are ready (to debate),” DeSantis told DailyMail.com on Saturday. “It will be fun, it will be a good debate for the country.”
Gov. Newsom (left) met with Xi (right) on Wednesday, becoming the first U.S. governor to go to China in more than four years amid rising tensions with the communist state
The debate will take place after the third Republican showdown on November 8 in Miami, Florida.
Following his backstage interview with DailyMail.com, DeSantis spoke with Nevada Republicans over breakfast at the Treasure Island Casino and Hotel on the Las Vegas Strip.
He then headed across the street to the Venetian for remarks at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual leadership summit — just weeks after Hamas terrorists launched their brutal attack on Israel.
DeSantis is among the top eight GOP candidates speaking at the annual conference.
The others are former President Donald Trump, biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, Senator Tim Scott (R-S.C.), former Vice President Mike Pence, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and North Dakota Governor , Doug Burgum. .