As Donald Trump does what he does best and sucks the political oxygen out of the room, over in what feels issue-wise like a proxy 2024 election race, the Republican governor of Florida Ron DeSantis had a feisty message for his California counterpart Democrat Governor Gavin Newsom.
The two governors have been locked in a feud since Florida flew planeloads of migrants from Texas to the California state capital of Sacramento in a protest of what Mr DeSantis sees as a dereliction of immigration policy at the southern border by Democrats.
Governor Newsom responded by sharply rebuking the Florida governor, and the possibility of criminal charges has been floated. He has since repeatedly criticised Mr DeSantis in interviews and public comments.
At Thursday’s signing of the state budget in Fort Pierce, Florida, Mr DeSantis was asked about Mr Newsom telling Sean Hannity that he would debate the Florida governor in an event moderated by the Fox News host.
While he didn’t answer the question directly, Governor DeSantis said of Governor Newsom to reporters: “He has a real serious fixation on the state of Florida, I think it’s just bizarre that he does that. What I would tell him is — you know what, stop pussyfooting around. Are you going to throw your hat into the ring and challenge Joe [Biden]?”
Further laying into Mr Newsom, the Florida governor said his California counterpart is facing “huge problems” in his state and has “overseen a massive exodus” due to it being “mismanaged and ill-governed”.
“Are you going to get in and do it, or are you going to sit on the sidelines and chirp?” he added, goading Mr Newsom. “So why don’t you throw your hat into the ring, and then we’ll go ahead and talk about what’s happening.”
The DeSantis campaign is now selling “Stop pussyfooting around” t-shirts.
Mr Newsom has no plans to enter the race for the White House and has explicitly said he won’t run in 2024. Asked if he would challenge President Biden for the Democratic Party nomination, the governor said: “I’m rooting for our president, and I have great confidence [in him].”
However, he is seen as a possible contender for a future run and appears to be positioning himself as such by raising his national profile with a proposed constitutional amendment regarding gun control and by heightening his media profile.
In late March, he launched a new political action committee focused on fighting for Democrats in red states throughout the 2024 election cycle. Some $10m was channelled into the “Campaign for Democracy” committee to help out in “state where freedom is most under attack”.
Mr DeSantis and Mr Newsom exemplify their parties’ stances on many issues which often puts them head-to-head on the national stage.
In addition to immigration and the care of asylum seekers, the two are also at loggerheads on gun control and LGBT+ issues — specifically around Florida’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill in which Disney, which has its major theme parks and operations in both states, has found itself at war with Mr DeSantis, and a champion in Mr Newsom.
The Florida governor is locked in a legal battle with the company that brought Mickey Mouse to the world regarding how its properties are planned and governed in the state.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday night, Mr Newsom attended the first-ever Pride Night at Disneyland in Anaheim, California, signalling support for both LGBT+ rights and freedoms as well as for Disney.
In further juxtaposition to Mr DeSantis, earlier in the day he met with Disney CEO Bob Iger and Disney Parks chairman Josh D’Amaro for a briefing on DisneylandForward, the company’s proposed expansion plans for its property in Anaheim.
Later on Thursday, Mr Newsom — responding to a video on Twitter of Mr DeSantis’s earlier remarks — asked the governor: “So… debate challenge accepted? Or do you need your notes for that, too?”
