DeSantis and Newsom Spar in Debate Hosted by Fox News’ Hannity

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.”