LOS ANGELES — Gov. Gavin Newsom challenged his Florida counterpart, Ron DeSantis, to a televised debate, escalating his criticism of Republican governors’ mass transport of migrants to liberal bastions as “reprehensible” and possibly illegal.
“Hey (DeSantis), clearly you’re struggling, distracted, and busy playing politics with people’s lives,” Newsom tweeted Friday afternoon. “Since you have only one overriding need — attention — let’s take this up & debate. I’ll bring my hair gel. You bring your hairspray. Name the time before Election Day.”
On Wednesday evening, DeSantis sent a group of around 50 migrants by plane to Martha’s Vineyard, a Massachusetts playground for wealthy liberals. On Thursday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott bused a group of nearly 100 migrants to Vice President Kamala Harris’ residence in Washington, D.C., ramping up a tactic that GOP governors have turned to in recent months to protest illegal immigration.
