DeSantis and Newsom Spar in Debate Hosted by Fox News’ Hannity
Summary from the AllSides News Team
GOP presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) attended an often contentious debate with California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) Thursday night, moderated by Fox News (Right bias) host Sean Hannity.
The Details: Billed as “The Great Red vs. Blue State Debate,” the prime-time program addressed topics like tax policy, education, immigration, President Joe Biden, abortion, and China. Towards the end, Hannity said the debate would extend from 90 minutes to two hours, but upon returning from a commercial break, he said the governors couldn’t stick around.
Key DeSantis Quotes: DeSantis often tied Newsom to Biden, saying, “What California represents is the Biden-Harris agenda on steroids.” Framing California as badly governed, he later took out a printed map of “human feces” found in San Francisco, saying Californians had “the freedom to defecate in public.”
Key Newsom Quotes: Newsom frequently took aim at DeSantis, accusing him of “criminalizing teachers, criminalizing doctors, criminalizing librarians, and criminalizing women that seek their reproductive care.” Addressing DeSantis’ legislation restricting LGBTQ-related school instruction, Newsom said, “I don’t like the way you demean the LGBTQ community.”
How the Media Covered It: The debate appeared to be ignored by many major outlets across the spectrum. While Fox’s coverage often included popular conservative framings like “woke books” and said Newsom dodged questions, The New York Times (Lean Left bias) emphasized that the debate was “unusual.”
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Right
DeSantis vs Newsom face off on abortion, transgenderism, wokeness and more
California Governor Gavin Newsom dodged a question on abortion limits during Thursday's debate.
"My question, very specific. Do you support any restrictions at all on abortion, especially in months seven, eight and nine?" Newsom was asked.
Newsom turned the question to DeSantis, saying that he "signed the most extreme anti-abortion bills in America."
He was asked the question again, and said late term abortions are an "extreme exception."
"It should be up to the mother and her doctor and her conscience," he said.
From the Center
DeSantis, Newsom clash in fiery Fox News debate: Recap
Govs. Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.) and Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) clashed Thursday over issues including COVID-19, immigration and abortion in a combative debate hosted by Fox News.
Sean Hannity moderated the 90-minute “Great Red vs. Blue State Debate,” which saw the two high-profile leaders exchanging tense words and often talking over one another.
The debate kicked off at 9 p.m. EST live from Alpharetta, Ga.
Here’s a recap of the night’s event.
From the Left
Newsom and DeSantis clash in a combative, unusual debate.
Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida and Gov. Gavin Newsom of California sparred in a surprisingly lively debate on Fox News, disagreeing over taxes, immigration, crime, guns, abortion and Covid in a clash that felt at times like an alternate-reality interlude during the 2024 presidential race.
Mr. Newsom used the platform to burnish his standing as a future national figure for the Democratic Party while Mr. DeSantis took swings at his Democratic counterpart with the kind of unrestrained verve that has been missing from his Republican primary debate performances. The clear...
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