Ron DeSantis Mocks Gavin Newsom During California Stop: ‘I Know You’ve Got a Lot of Problems Out Here’

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CHANDAN KHANNA, PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images
Hannah Knudsen

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) mocked California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) during his stop at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library on Sunday, drawing further speculation of a potential 2024 presidential bid as he promotes his book The Courage to Be Free: Florida’s Blueprint for America’s Revival.

DeSantis spoke to California Republicans over the weekend during a stop in the Golden State, laying out what he has dubbed the “Florida Blueprint.”

“I know you’ve got a lot of problems out here, but your governor is very concerned about what we are doing in Florida. So I figured I had to come by,” DeSantis told the crowd, prompting cheers:

Indeed, Newsom has long targeted DeSantis. Last year, for example, Newsom used the Fourth of July to encourage Floridians to move to California, attempting to tout his state as the true bastion of freedom:

The California governor also accused the DeSantis administration of “bullying” the Special Olympics after the state stood up to the coronavirus vaccine mandates, which would have excluded athletes from participating in the event. Newsom’s jab prompted a response from Florida’s first lady, Casey DeSantis:

Then in September, Newsom traveled to Texas to continue to tout his obsession with disliking DeSantis, deeming him a “bully” and asserting that DeSantis has “weaponized” policies to “the next level.”

While Newsom has continued to troll “freedom-loving” governors, he has failed to address challenges in his own state. Most recently, Newsom failed to declare a state of emergency for several California counties in a timely manner following a winter storm that left some residents trapped for days.

As Breitbart News reported:

Visit the governor’s office online and you will see plenty of attacks on oil companies, but nothing about snow before Wednesday. Newsom wasted time tweeting about how Democrats are supposedly more fiscally responsible than Republicans — while his own state faces a deficit of up to $30 billion (after squandering the bounty of last year’s record surplus of $98 billion).

Newsom didn’t appear to spend much time, if any, making sure that California was ready for the blizzard.

He didn’t warn residents not to travel in the mountains — where an entire school was stranded on a field trip. He didn’t make sure additional snow plows and first responders were on standby to rescue drivers who become stuck in drifts. He didn’t deploy additional repair crews in to respond to potential power outages. He was completely AWOL.

Newsom returned to the state on Sunday after an inexplicable absence:

Newsom’s delayed response alone has created what some have viewed as a major contrast between himself and DeSantis, the latter of whom had his administration at the ready last year, responding to massive tropical storms battering the Sunshine State with tens of thousands of linemen ready to respond. 

Notably, Newsom pledged $100,000 to DeSantis’s Democrat challenger, former Rep. Charlie Crist’s (D-FL) campaign in 2022. Crist went on to lose by roughly 1.5 million votes. 

“We have had a great experiment, a great test in governance philosophies,” DeSantis said during his visit in the Golden State.

 “The American people … have voted with their feet. And if you look over the last four years, we’ve witnessed a great American exodus from states governed by leftist politicians imposing leftist ideology and delivering poor results,” he added. 

In 2022 alone, California saw roughly 343,000 residents leave the state. Meanwhile, Texas and Florida lead the nation in terms of largest gains, as the Sunshine State alone added more than 400,000 residents. 

According to the Los Angeles Times, Newsom offered a sarcastic welcome to DeSantis. 

“Just look at the data — California residents are safer, healthier and more prosperous than those unfortunate enough to have you as their governor,” the Democrat stated. “Oh, by the way, you’re going to get smoked by Trump.”

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