HIGHLIGHTS: Ron DeSantis & Gavin Newsom Governor's Debate

DESANTIS: Pretty slick way of not answering your question. He went on a binge of putting out a lot of left-wing platitudes. I talked to all people that moved from California to Florida and we never used to get people – or any one because why would you leave California? It has the best weather. Excuse me, sir. One of the things that I did, I had – I was talking to a gentleman –
>> The debate read. Let’s take turns.
>> Talking to a fellow who made the move from California to Florida and he said that Florida is safer, lower taxes, and he is happy with the quality of life and then he paused and he said, by the way, pam Gavin Newsom’s father-in-law. So we do count Gavin’s in-laws as some of the people who have fled California and why are we getting people to come? We have a 50 year low in the crime rate. You don’t see, in the last 10 years, we had a 45% decline in homelessness. California has had a 44% increase in homelessness. We back the blue. I was walking the streets of San Francisco a couple months ago and I had some of the cops in San Francisco to a beeline to come over to me and I did not know what they were going to say say. They said, we want to thank you for standing for law enforcement because we don’t get that support in the state of California. People understand the quality of life matters. They understand that Florida is doing it right. And I can tell you the numbers speak for themselves. We have way more people moving to this state than leaving. Gavin can't say the opposite. More people are leaving California than are moving into California.Show more

NEWSOM: These regressive taxes that advantage billionaires and millionaires over working families and the working poor. People in his state pay more taxes on the low end than we tax people on the high end. That's a fact.

DESANTIS: How does paying $7 a gallon gas help working people? That doens't help working people at all. How does paying an 8% sales tax help worlking people? That doesn't help working people at all. They have the highest taxes inthe nation. People flee to be able to save money to get out of California, and you have working class people that move to these other states, their dollars go much further. Here's the thing- they want to take this Bidenomics and they want to double down on this for the next 4 years. How many people are able to afford groceries now compared to what you were doing three or four years ago? I talked to people, you know, talk to a woman who had a cart full of groceries, going in and they're ringing it up. A got to be so expensive she has to take a lot of the stuff out. That did not used to be the case. People used to be able to work hard and get ahead. That is not true under Joe Biden. And you know what, one more final thing- California’s unemployment rate is 60% higher than Florida’s unemployment rate. Our employment rate is 2.8%. Theirs is 4.8%. Why? Because it is a command and control economy. They have a political agenda that they are pursuing.

NEWSOM: On the issue of immigration. When he was in Congress, he supported amnesty. When her was is in Congress, he supported John Boener's bill. It's a fact

DESANTIS: False.

NEWSOM: When you were in Congress you supported Obama’s – you supported Obama’s supported Obama’s efforts to advance comprehensive reform. The last guy you want to talk to on that immigrant – your immigration policy can best be described as a governor from the state of Florida going into another state, the state of Texas, lying to migrants, promising them jobs and housing to send them to an island of Martha’s vineyard, and then sending them to a parking lot in Sacramento, California. I met with those migrants that you lied to. Under false pretense. That kind of gamesmanship, using human beings as pawns, I think there is a disqualifying. So again, a guy who stands here, who has been out on the Republican debate stage, saying that he is going to shoot people with backpacks and that he has a strategy to potentially even invade our second largest trading partner, Mexico, that has a record of supporting amnesty and supporting amnesty and reforms under the Obama Administration is the last guy standing on stage talking about the issue of immigration reform tonight.

DESANTIS: I'm having dejavu with that flurry of lies. This is a guy that says the Biden Administration is not lying to the public about the border. To go to White House briefing room every day. They said the border is secure. They are lying to you. We know that that is not true. Gavin Newsom is lying to you when he says somehow I supported these things which I did not do. He is also lying to you about what it is going to take to solve this problem. California is a sanctuary state. They thumb their nose at federal immigration law practice has real consequences. There was an illegal alien, Herbert Nixon Flores, who was in L.A. in custody, a repeat criminal. I.C.E. wanted to take him into custody because then they would be able to deport him. LA refuses to work with ice. The end up releasing him on the street. He ends up murdering the mother of a three-year-old little girl. That – those policies are deadly. They do not work. And I would tell you this. The Martha’s vineyard transport, Martha’s vineyard said it was a sanctuary jurisdiction. Kind of reminds me about Gavin Newsom when he restricted californians that he went to the French Laundry. These liberal elites, they like to impose burdens on you. They don’t want to have to face the consequences of their action. We have a lot of ellites who want open borders. Hoops extra everybody else about it. That the minute they have to do with any of the consequences, oh, man, all hell breaks loose.

DESANTIS: This should not be in schools. When people on the left say that somehow you are banning books by removing this from a young kid’s classroom. No, this is not age-appropriate and so we’re going to stand for the rights of parents. And I think need to do that nationwide. I do think you can have a situation where some states just trample on the rights of parents. Parents have a fundamental right to direct the education and upbringing of their kids.

NEWSOM You've been on a banning binge. 1,406 books have been banned just last year under Ron DeSantis of leadership. I love that he keeps pulling this out. He has been doing this all over the campaign trail. What is wrong with Toni Morrison’s books?

DESANTIS: It's not banned.

NEWSOM: What is wrong with Amanda Gorman Gorman’s? 1,406 books.

DESANTIS: Not Banned. That's a false Narrative.

NEWSOM: 1,406 books have been banned in the state of Florida as it relates to parental rights, come on. California, it is in our constitution, parental engaging. We require parental engagement. On curriculum development and we don’t complete lie, we don’t require k through 3rd grade sexual education. You are using education as a sword for your cultural purge. With all due respect, you know, I remember in the 1970s, the 1970s, we had a bill called the briggs initiative and there was a guy by the name of Ronald Reagan, so offended by the briggs initiative which was the original “don’t say gay” bill. It was not allowing teachers who happen to be gay to teach. Reagan said, you can’t catch gay like you can measles. I don’t like the way you demean the LGBTQ+ community. I don’t like how you humiliate people you disagree with. I find this fundamentally offensive and this is a core value that distinguishes the values of my state and frankly the vast majority of Americans against the weaponization of education.

HANNITY: Some of the books you are talking about, one is called, the Governor just brought it up, it is called “genderqueer, a memoir, explicit pornographic book showing sex acts. Another, 'Flamer', a graphic book about young boys performing sex acts at summer camp. 'This Book is Gay' a book containing instructions on the ins and outs of gay sexuality. 'Let's Talk About It' a book that contains graphic description is about how to masturbate. Do you believe that is appropriate for school districts to teach kids, yes or no?

NEWSOM: Those are not part of the curriculum.

HANNITY: Those were books that were in school.

NEWSOM: The bottom line is, you are on a book banning binge in your state. 1,406 books, 3,362 in this country.

HANNITY: YOu didn't answer the quesitons.
NEWSON: We don't provide for K through 3rd grade education, that kind of curriculum, it is just made up. These guys make it up. It is part of this cultural purge. What I find offensive is the very significant number of these books happen to be LGBTQ+ books. A significant number of these books. A significant number of these books happen to be about African-Americans.

HANNITY: Do you think it is appropriate in school?

NEWSOM: We don't teach that. We don’t teach that. We have sex education in high schools where it is appropriate. This is a made up issue. You talk about dividing this country. This is part of the culture war, the weaponization of grievance. This is part using education, we are focusing on math, science, we are focusing on reimagining our schools. He's criminalizing teachers.

DESANTIS: They've used the schools to impose a liberal agenda. Social justice, they have this ethnic studies where they are dividing people. Let me just say something about parents’ rights. He says California respects parents’ rights. He has been telling a lot of whoppers tonight, this may be the biggest. In California, if you are a parent in Iowa or New Hampshire, South Carolina, your minor child can go to California without your knowledge or without your consent and get hormone therapy, puberty blockers, and a sex change operation without you knowing or consenting. How in the heck is that honoring parents’ rights when you are bringing people from out of state to go around their parents’ backs and getting life altering surgeries? That is radical. That is extreme. That is an assault on parents’ writes.

NEWSOM: You know what, Ron? These kids just want to live.

DESANTIS: It's not for you to decide. It is for the parents to decide. The parents did not want kids going to these things.

[Crosstalk]

HANNITY: you recently said,, quote, you think that vice president Harris is the one lined up to run for president if Joe Biden were to bow out. Governor Newsom, I ask you, will you make an lbj-like statement and Governor DeSantis, you say he is running a shadow campaign. In your response, I would like you to answer that. Really say unequivocally, under no circumstances are you running –

NEWSOM: Correct. I don’t know how many times I can say this. You are making this stuff up about a shadow campaign.

HANNITY: They ask you to run –

NEWSOM: Joe Biden will be our nominee in a matter of weeks. In a matter of weeks, Sean, he will be endorsing – he will be endorsing Donald Trump.

HANNITY: If they come to you and Joe is incapable of asking, are you a hard no?

NEWSOM: It's not even an option. He's doing fantastically. I appreciate and respect the work the president is doing in the vice president, Biden/Harris campaign and team so absolutely unequivocally. President Biden will be reelected. Donald Trump will be rejected.

DESANTIS: What he is saying should color every single thing. I've called him on a lot of the lies, but he says Joe Biden is 100% up to the job.

NEWSOM: Joe Biden put out not only a comprehensive plan. He puts a plans-

HANNITY: Is there a risk to theAmerican people?

NEWSOM: I support border security. I think the asylum system is broken. I believe that we- I'm the only guy here who is a border state governor. You are trolling folks and trying to fing migrants to play political games so you can out out Trump Trump. How is that going for you, Ron? You are down 41 points in your own home state. On the issue of immigration, Joe Biden put a $14 billion immigration package up in front of Congress, 2300 border agents as well as customs officials. 1,000 new law-enforcement officers to deal with the fentanyl issue. And that is a major issue in your state. 41% higher overdose rates than the state of California. And here is what I have not heard. Not a peep from Ron DeSantis. They want to demagogue this issue. You don’t want to solve this issue. Why don’t you lead your party and support that $14 billion –

NEWSOM: This is a guy that is criminalizing teachers, doctors, librarians, and women that seek their reproductive care. You're making it harder to vote. You are banning books. Spare me this notion of freedom. Ask the folks at Disney. Ask the folks at the Special Olympics that you threaten to fine with 27 million–

DESANTIS: They were discriminating against the athletes. You wanted those athletes to be out there because of down syndrome. That is wrong. That is being a liberal bully. They had down syndrome and you wanted to discriminate against them. They were discriminating against because they were discriminating against the athletes. They wanted to marginalize the athletes and you wanted the athletes marginalized. That was wrong what you did. These are kids with down syndrome that just wanted to compete and you wanted them out of the Special Olympics. You're a liberal bully.

[Crosstoalk]

NEWSOM: I can handle it. I’m used to it. You know what? Your attacks on the trans community – you attack vulnerable communities. You attack women. Relax. I can handle it. I’m used to bullies. You are nothing but a bully. I understand that. Intimidating and humiliate people. That is your calling card.

[Overlapping speakers]

HANNITY: Let's go back to the issue of homelessness.

NEWSOM: The issue of homelessness has been an issue for decades in the state of California. Ever since we started shuttering down our mental health institutions.

HANNITY: Looking at total time-

NEWSOM: Let him have it, he could use it.

DESANTIS: This is a map of San Francisco. This is an app where they plot the human feces found on the streets of San Francisco. It is covered because that is what has happened in one of the previous greatest cities this country has ever had. Human feces is now a fact of life, except when a communist dictator comes to town. Then they cleaned up the streets. They lined the streets with Chinese flags. They did not put American flags there. To clean everything up. They are willing to do it for a communist dictator, but they're not willing to do it for their own people.

DESANTIS: I would not go to China and grovel in front of Xi, like Gavin Newsom did. He says China is a partner on climate change. China is adding two new coal plants every year. China is laughing at us with what they are doing. So yes, they are the number one threat we face. We need to take it seriously and Joe Biden is not doing that.

NEWSOM: This is a reminder, you know, I think it is a question some people are probably asking. I know Nikki Haley’s camping is asking, when are you going to drop out and at least give Nikki Haley a shot to take down Donald Trump? She laid you out. You're a walking hypocrite on the issue of China.

DESANTIS: You wish.

HANNITY: What about China?

NEWSOM: On the issue of China, this is a guide who was looking for direct foreign trade from Chine, was doing trade —

DESANTIS: That is false. That has already been debunked. You talk about the liberal fact checkers. Even the liberal fact checkers debunked that.

NEWSOM: Donald Trump himself called you 'Red Ron' for your complete hypocrisy.

DESANTIS: The issue we have from the modern left, including in California is that they will take your tax dollars and they will fund abortion all the way to the moment of birth. He is wrong when he says the later terms are all because of this. 88% past 15 weeks are in fact the elective from the for the data. He does not keep data there. But that is really extreme to take your tax dollars and to do this all the way up to the moment of birth. He did not answer your question about any type of protections at all for a baby that has a beating heart, that can feel pain, that is viable.

NEWSOM: this is an important conversation, will you or will you not support. Will you not support a national ban if it lands on your desk?

HANNITY: gentlemen, we are moving onto the next issue.

NEWSOM: The American people should know this. He can’t answer it. He will sign that extreme ban. The American people should know that.

NEWSOM: You in particular, Ron, are a cultural purge intimidating and humiliating people you disagree with. You and President Trump are really trying to make democracy on fire. So Sean, there are profound differences tonight. And I look forward in engaging. But there’s one thing in closing that we have in common, is neither of us will be the nominee for our party in 2024.