Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) hit each other over their record on COVID-19 as the two clashed in a feisty debate on Fox News on Thursday night.
“I had Disney open during COVID, and we made ‘em a fortune, and we saved a lot of jobs,” DeSantis said in a jab at Newsom during the debate, which was hosted by Fox host Sean Hannity. “You had Disney closed inexplicably for over a year. You are not following science. You were a lock-down governor.”
“You did a lot of damage to your people,” he continued. “You had more kids locked out of school for a longer period of time in California than anywhere else in the country.”
But Newsom shot back, suggesting DeSantis’s comments were hypocritical.
“Let’s talk about your record on COVID,” Newsom said. “You pass an emergency declaration before the state of California did. You closed down your beaches, your bars, your restaurants. It’s a fact. You had quarantines — you had quarantines, you had checkpoints all over the state of Florida.”
The California governor added that DeSantis “followed science” and “followed” former White House medical adviser Anthony Fauci, as DeSantis aggressively disputed Newsom’s remarks.
The two men were participating in a 90-minute televised debate, a rare occasion considering that DeSantis is running for the White House, while Newsom is not.
The event comes as DeSantis has struggled to catch up to former President Trump in national and early state polls and is facing a threat from former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley.
Newsom, meanwhile, has been floated as a White House hopeful, though he has said he has no intentions to run for the White House in 2024 and has backed President Biden.