There are many of us that simply could not bear to watch the debate. Two adults talking over each other is a bit much for me. But fear not, there is a transcript.
Transcript of the Newsom - DeSantis Debate
The entire debate is way too long to post here but it begins with this:
Ron DeSantis (03:27):
When I was in the Navy, I got orders to go to Naval Amphibious Base Coronado in Southern California, and I was a lifeline Floridian. But I went there and I was like, “Man, this is one of the most beautiful places on earth.” And I think California has more natural advantages than any state in the country.
(03:42)
You almost have to try to mess California up. And yeah, that’s what Gavin Newsom has done since he’s been governor. He’s the first governor to ever lose population. They actually at one point ran out of U-Hauls in the state of California because so many people were leaving. Of course, he’s imposed restrictions on his own people, while exempting himself from those restrictions in going to The French Laundry while his people were suffering. He led the country in school closures, locking kids out of school, while he had his own kids in private school in person.
(04:15)
Now he’s very good at spinning these tales, he’s good at being slick and slippery. He’ll tell a blizzard of lies to be able to try to mask the failures. But the reality is, they have failed because of his leftist ideology. And the choice for America is this, what Biden and Harris and Newsom want to do is take the California model and do that nationally. In Florida we showed that conservative principles work. This country must choose freedom over failure.
Sean Hannity (04:44):
Governor Newsom, your reaction?
Gavin Newsom (04:46):
Well, it’s good to be with you, Sean. It’s nice also to see you in a tie as well tonight. Good to be with you, Ron. And I imagine-
Sean Hannity (04:53):
I dressed up for the occasion, Governor.
Gavin Newsom (04:54):
You dressed up. No, I’m impressed and I’m grateful. Look, it’s an important occasion. This is an important conversation. And I think it’s important to the folks watching, they’re probably wondering, what are we actually doing here? And I want to answer that very directly, I’ll tell you why I’m here. I’m here to tell the truth about the Biden-Harris record, and also compare and contrast Ron DeSantis’s record and the Republican Party’s record as a point of contrast that’s as different as daylight and darkness.
(05:22)
You want to bring us back to a pre-1960s world, America in reverse. You want to roll back hard- earned national rights on voting rights, on civil rights, and LGBTQ rights, on women’s rights. Not just access to abortion, but also access to contraception. You want to weaponize grievance. You are focusing on false separateness. You, in particular, Ron, are on a banning binge, a cultural purge, intimidating and humiliating people you disagree with. You and President Trump are really trying to light democracy on fire.
(05:58)
So Sean, there are profound differences tonight and I look forward to engage them. 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.
Sean Hannity (06:11):
Governor, great opening statement-
Ron DeSantis (06:14):
Didn’t answer the question. I mean, I think-
Sean Hannity (06:16):
… but it didn’t address the issue. Can you explain this migration out of California and going to red state, blue state-
Gavin Newsom (06:22):
Hold on. You mean the last two years more Floridians going to California than Californians going to Florida?
Sean Hannity (06:29):
No, I put up put on the screen-
Gavin Newsom (06:30):
By the way, that’s going to be fun to fact-check so we’ll just start right there. California has no peers. California dominates, a size of 21 state populations combined. It’s the fifth-largest economy in the world. We dominate. Number one manufacturing state. We dominate in two-way trade and research and development, access to innovation. More scientists, more researchers, more engineers, more Nobel laureates in the state of California than any other state in the nation. The finest system of higher education. It’s the birthplace of life science and biotech and nanotechnology. We dominate in green tech, we dominate in high-tech, we dominate in artificial intelligence.
(07:06)
So with respect, I think it’s an interesting campaign strategy for Ron DeSantis to be bashing a state of 40 million Americans, when California simply has no peers.
