Gavin Newsom goes all in on his attacks on Ron DeSantis, claiming there’s no way Florida’s popular governor will beat Donald Trump in a primary and criticizing his billboard of a permitless carry law.
California’s Democratic governor’s repeated criticism of DeSantis appears to be sparking a rivalry as Americans call for new blood in the White House — while it looks like the 2024 presidential election could become another showdown between 70-year-old Trump and 80-year-old President Joe Biden.
DeSantis, 44, has not yet announced whether he will run in the GOP primary, but many expected him to grab his growing war chest and enter the race in the coming months.
Newsom, 55, says there is no chance of Florida’s Republican winning against the former president.
“He’s being rolled by Trump,” Newsom told former White House press secretary and now MSNBC host Jen Psaki. Trump is just going to roll it. Driven.’
California Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom said his Florida counterpart Ron DeSantis will be “rolled” by Donald Trump, claiming he is “terrified of the public”
DeSantis has yet to announce a bid for the presidency, but so far is the only one to give Trump a run for his money in the polls
“Honestly, if I was giving him political advice, I would tell him to pack his bags and wait a few years,” Newsom added in his Sunday interview with Psaki.
He also claimed that DeSantis is “afraid of the public.” It’s unclear what this attack is referring to, but it could be that Florida’s governor has snubbed most mainstream media outlets by refusing to participate in interviews with outlets his office says are unfavorable to his policies and views.
Of Newsom’s stunt, DeSantis’ deputy press secretary Jeremy Redfern criticized the California governor for “spending his time talking about Governor DeSantis.”
‘[Gov. DeSantis] spends his time governing on behalf of the Floridians, enacting conservative policies and spreading Florida’s blueprint for success,” he added in a tweet on Newsom’s comments, saying DeSantis is “afraid.”
Newsom sat down for a pre-recorded interview with Psaki in Alabama while he was touring Republican-led states, including Arkansas and Mississippi.
During that interview, he didn’t mince words for arguably the most popular and widely known GOP state leader.
“They don’t care about our kids,” Newsom said of DeSantis and the Florida legislature after it passed a law allowing people in Florida to carry firearms without a permit.
“If they did, they would ban these goddamn weapons of war,” he added in the interview that aired on Sunday. “They’d have background checks that require damn common sense.”
The finger-pointing came in the wake of the bill’s signage, which came just days after a shooting at a Christian elementary school in Nashville, Tennessee, killed six, including three nine-year-old students.
‘[DeSantis is] terrified, afraid of the people, afraid of the public,” Newsom said. “I think the majority of NRA members are probably against that position.”
Newsom sat down for an interview with Jen Psaki on a tour of red states following the launch of his new PAC aimed at calling out red states and “authoritarian leaders.” Days after the Tennessee school shooting, he assaulted DeSantis as he signed into law a new carry-carrying license law in Florida
California’s governor, who was able to keep his seat after facing a recall election for his actions during the COVID-19 pandemic, has recently deliberately increased his national relevance.
Newsom recently launched a new political action committee (PAC) called Campaign for Democracy. It is aimed at calling out policies in red states and targeting who he believes are “authoritarian leaders.”
Florida’s new concealed carry law was signed into law by DeSantis the week after the March 27 Covenant School shooting. It has broad opposition from Democrats — and even some Republicans.
An early March University of North Florida poll found that 62 percent of respondents opposed the bill, with a whopping 93 percent of Democrats thinking so and only 21 percent of Republicans agreeing.
“Constitutional Carry is on the books,” DeSantis said in a press release after he signed the bill into law.
Since last month’s Tennessee shooting, there have been protests at the state Capitol that have left the legislature baffled. Two members were evicted from the Tennessee House of Representatives after protesting on the floor.