Governors Newsom and DeSantis exchange blows over the future of the USA
The 45-year-old DeSantis is already bidding to become the Republican Party's candidate for the 2024 presidential election, but is considered to have little chance in the duel with former President Donald Trump. The 56-year-old Newsom has recently fueled speculation about a possible candidacy in the election in five years' time through his appearances for US President Joe Biden.
There has been a fierce dispute between the two governors for months because DeSantis flies undocumented migrants to California and Newsom has strongly criticized Florida's ban on six-week abortions, describing it as the "most extreme" in the USA.
DeSantis urged US citizens on Thursday to choose "freedom over failure" and accused Newsom of being "inseparable" from President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. He accused the latter of wanting to transfer the " California model" to the entire USA, which would be "disastrous for working people".
Newsom accused DeSantis of using "education as a sword for your cultural cleansing" in light of the banning of certain books from Florida's libraries. He also criticized the Republican for doing "nothing meaningful" on gun safety after the Parkland school massacre that left 17 people dead in 2018.
The Republican attacked his Democratic opponent on the topics of immigration, the healthcare system and crime. Newsom's "left-wing policies" had harmed Californian cities such as San Francisco. He also referred to the high gasoline and sales tax rates in California. Newsom countered that poorer people in Florida pay more taxes than rich Californians.
The 90-minute debate took place in a suburb of Atlanta in the state of Georgia - once a bastion of the Republicans, but which has developed into one of the hotly contested "swing states" in recent years.
Presenter Sean Hannity, an avowed Trump supporter, had promised neutrality in the run-up to the debate, but chose topics that might have appealed to the channel's conservative viewers, especially at the beginning.
DeSantis seemed more comfortable in the duel with his Democratic opponent than in the televised Republican debates, where he often came across as reserved and awkward. Newsom defended Biden's economic policy and pointed to the positive developments on the labor market.
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Source: www.stern.de
