- California Gov. Gavin Newsom challenged Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to a debate over his decision to fly 50 migrants to Martha’s Vineyard
- Newsom mocked DeSantis as someone ‘struggling, distracted, and busy playing politics with people’s lives’ as he called out the Republican governor
- Prior to the challenge, DeSantis quipped that Newsom was opposing his immigrantion tacting because his ‘hair gel is interfering with his brain function’
- DeSantis added that his state is ready to commit $12 million to fly more migrants to Democrat-led cities up north in protest of Biden’s border policies
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has challenged Ron DeSantis to a debate over his decision to send 50 migrants to Martha’s Vineyard as the Florida governor doubles down on sending more migrants to Democratic ‘sanctuary cities.’
Earlier this week, DeSantis mimicked his Texas and Arizona counterparts in sending over groups of migrants to Democrat-led cities up north in protest of the Biden Administration’s border policies.
Newsom and other Democratic leaders have slammed the move as playing with people’s lives, with the California governor challenging DeSantis to a debate ahead of the midterm elections.
‘Hey @GovRonDeSantis, clearly you’re struggling, distracted, and busy playing politics with people’s lives,’ Newsom tweeted on Friday.
‘Since you have only one overriding need – attention – let’s take this up & debate,’ Newsom said in response to a tweet from Dan Rather asking CNN to set up a debate between the two governors.
‘I’ll bring my hair gel. You bring your hairspray,’ he added, referring to DeSantis’ quip earlier that day that Newsom’s ‘hair gel is interfering with his brain function’ when the California governor criticized his actions.
Newsom’s challenge comes as DeSantis continued to defend flying the migrants over to Martha’s Vineyard and said his state has a $12 million budget ready to relocate more immigrants up north, CNN reported.
‘These are just the beginning efforts,’ DeSantis said in a news conference on Friday. ‘We’ve got an infrastructure in place now. There’s going to be a lot more that’s happening.’
The Florida governor said he may even collaborate with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who began the wave of busing thousands of migrants to New York City, Seattle and Washington D.C.
DeSantis has accused critics of his move of ‘virtue signaling’, saying their concern for the welfare of the migrants was a ‘fraud’.
He said: ‘The minute even a small fraction of what those border towns deal with every day is brought to their front door, they go berserk, and they’re so upset that this is happening.’
The Republican also disputed claims that the migrants didn’t know where they were being sent to, saying his office made them sign a waiver and provided maps of Martha’s Vineyard.
‘It’s obvious that’s where they were going,’ he said, adding, ‘It’s all voluntary.’
Along with Newsom, DeSantis has received much criticism from the left over his actions.
US Rep Seth Moulton, a Democrat from Massachusetts, accused DeSantis of orchestrating a political ploy with the lives of the migrants.
‘Playing politics with people’s lives is what governors like George Wallace did during segregation,’ Moulton said, referring to Wallace’s tactics of tricking black Southerners to move north. ‘Ron DeSantis is trying to earn George Wallace’s legacy.’
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre also took aim at DeSantis and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott during a press conference today, urging other Republicans who do not agree with their ‘blueprint’ to ‘speak up’.
She said: ‘This is an issue and we have been clear about this, this is an issue that is inhumane it is abhorrent and we should not be using people, migrants, who are fleeing communism as a political pawn.’
Even former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton chimed in, calling the transportation of the migrants ‘inhumane’ and lickening it to ‘human trafficking.’
