Ron DeSantis taunts Gavin Newsom to enter 2024 White House contest against Joe Biden: 'Stop pussyfooting around'
- During a Fox News interview, Newsom challenged DeSantis to a three-hour debate.
- DeSantis said he would only do it if Newsom formally entered the 2024 presidential race.
Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida is accelerating his taunts against Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, telling the California executive to "stop pussyfooting around."
The 2024 presidential candidate on Thursday jabbed Newsom about how he hadn't entered the presidential race to challenge President Joe Biden. DeSantis suggested Newsom frequently criticized him and had a "real serious fixation on the state of Florida" because he was itching to run for the White House.
"Are you going to throw your hat in the ring and challenge Joe? Are you going to get in and do it, or are you just going to sit on the sidelines and chirp?" DeSantis asked. "Why don't you go ahead and throw your hat in the ring and then we'll talk about what's happening."
Newsom, 55, is a rising star in the Democratic Party whose name frequently arose as a possibility for the White House when Biden hadn't yet made a decision about his reelection. Like DeSantis, Newsom cruised to reelection and will be term-limited out in 2026.
But unlike DeSantis, 44, Newsom is sitting out the White House contest. In April, he reiterated to Insider in an interview that he was supporting Biden for reelection and praised his "record of substantive accomplishments."
DeSantis' comments were specifically in response to an interview Newsom did with Fox News Sean Hannity that aired Monday, in which the California governor challenged DeSantis to a three-hour debate.
"I would do it one day's notice with no notes," Newsom said. "I look forward to that."
Newsom's team didn't immediately respond to a request for comment, but later Thursday Newsom quote-tweeted a video of DeSantis' comments with: "So…debate challenge accepted? Or do you need your notes for that, too? cc: @seanhannity."
Tensions have long been high between the two high-profile men, but reached a climax this month when the DeSantis administration relocated migrants from Texas to Sacramento, the state capital where Newsom governs. DeSantis accused California of encouraging illegal immigration through establishing sanctuary cities, while Newsom called DeSantis a "small, pathetic man" and threatened to consider kidnapping charges.
Newsom even celebrated the first-ever Disney After Dark Pride Nite at Disneyland in Anaheim, California, on Tuesday, drawing a contrast with DeSantis, who is in a relentless battle with the Walt Disney Company after it opposed a schools law that severely limits how and when LGBTQ+ topics can be taught.
"In California, we don't just tolerate our diversity – we celebrate it and all the ways it makes us stronger," Newsom said in a statement after the event.
Newsom told Insider in April that he thought when people really looked at DeSantis, "it's not all it was hyped up to be," calling the DeSantis fights "remarkably un-substantive" and "un-American." He accused DeSantis of an "obsession with just demeaning minorities and women," citing his nearly all-out abortion ban in Florida and the migrant flights.
Last year he ran an ad in Florida warning that "Freedom is under attack in your state." He encouraged Floridians to relocate to California in a direct messaging foil to DeSantis boasting about "the free state of Florida."
In late March he launched Campaign for Democracy, a political action committee that'll take his progressive message to red states. The fund could help boost Newsom's brand as a national leader and perhaps help to mount a presidential campaign in the future, or in case Biden, 80, needs to drop out for some reason.
This is a developing story that will be updated.