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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
David Smith in Alpharetta, Georgia

Undercard for Biden-Trump? Debate puts two Americas on same stage

A person in a hat watches Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis goes head to head with his Democrat counterpart Gavin Newsom.
People watch as Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis goes head to head with his Democrat counterpart Gavin Newsom. Photograph: Elijah Nouvelage/Reuters

American media billed it as a “slugfest” and the “Vendetta in Alpharetta”. Ron DeSantis’s campaign hyped it with a “tale of the tape”. In the era of politics as entertainment, everyone had an interest in turning a debate between two state governors with presidential aspirations into something resembling fight night in Las Vegas.

After all, it seems the Elon Musk v Mark Zuckerberg cage match is not going to happen, so the showdown between Florida governor DeSantis and his California counterpart Gavin Newsom on prime time television on Thursday would just have to do.

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