Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis says he debated California Gov. Gavin Newsom to “expose” the political left’s agenda for the country, hoping that his prime-time performance against a prominent Democrat fuels his effort to catch former President Donald Trump in the GOP presidential race.
Mr. DeSantis on Friday drew a straight line between the condition of California and the ticket of President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris that he hopes to face in November 2024. He cited San Francisco, a “pig sty” where there is an app to report human feces on the streets — a city that was cleaned up ahead of a visit from Chinese President Xi Jinping.
“That is the agenda that Biden, Harris and, yes, Newsom want for this country,” Mr. DeSantis told voters in South Carolina, a state with an early primary season and can make or break campaigns. “That’s why the 2024 election is so important.”
Mr. DeSantis is running against a crowded GOP field dominated by Mr. Trump.
Mr. Newsom, who isn’t in the 2024 race, used Thursday’s debate on Fox News to accuse Mr. DeSantis of rolling back “hard-earned national rights” for voters, LGBTQ Americans and women.
Yet Mr. DeSantis said he made the case that Florida is a model for the nation.
“If you look at what the left in this country wants to do, you just look at California,” the Republican governor said Friday at the Fourth District Republican Town Hall in Greer. “We thought it was important to be able to expose that.”
He said he could change the course of the nation during eight years in the White House. Mr. Trump, if he wins, would be term-limited to four years in the presidency.
“Things are bad, Biden’s done a bad job, but it’s reversible if we win, and win big, in ’24 — and ’28, quite frankly, you need someone to serve two terms like President [Ronald] Reagan did,” Mr. DeSantis said.
Mr. DeSantis contrasted Mr. Newsom’s liberal attitude toward abortion with a pledge to maintain a “culture of life,” pointing to his decision to sign a Florida ban on abortion after six weeks of pregnancy.
He said school choice worked in Florida and will work for the nation, and pledged to “rock the boat” in Washington by ousting agency leaders who aren’t doing a good job.
The Republican said he would declare an emergency around illegal immigration to marshal resources toward the issue and build the border wall.
Mr. DeSantis’s main impediment to reaching the White House is Mr. Trump, who leads the rest of the GOP field by at least 40 points in most polls.
The Florida governor has tried to position himself as the best alternative to Mr. Trump, who faces multiple criminal trials next year.
Yet he’s also contending with former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, a GOP rival who is surging in New Hampshire and holds second place in South Carolina.
Mr. DeSantis on Friday criticized Mrs. Haley for winning support from JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon.
He said Wall Street figures don’t want to be tough on China, where they make money, or clamp down on illegal immigration, which provides them cheap labor.
“She will basically be someone that will allow them to call the shots,” Mr. DeSantis said.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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