Shouting matches, arrogant smirks, name-calling and lots of hair products characterized the Nov. 30 political debate between California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Broadcast on Fox News, the event billed as the “The Great Red State vs. Blue State Debate” was set up like a presidential contest. However, this was no ordinary debate as the two governors, one running a presidential campaign and the other a “shadow” campaign, represent two of the nation’s largest and most influential states. Covering topics from abortion to homelessness, book bans, immigration and the growing trend of California residents moving to Florida, the governors took every opportunity to jab at each other’s political records. By the end, no love was lost between the governors, nor was there a winner. The spectacle was a grim reminder of politicians’ meaningless political posturing and political egos.
From the start, the debate was produced as political entertainment, conceived from Gov. Newsom’s “bromance” with conservative Fox News anchor Sean Hannity. Quickly accepting the challenge, the California governor posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, “I’ll bring my hair gel. You bring your hairspray. Name the time before Election Day.” Indeed, he did bring his Pat Riley hair.
Yet, Newsom needed more than his hair gel for this debate. He wanted a national stage to set up his future presidential campaign. The governor has denied he’s running in the 2024 Presidential Election multiple times, going so far as to say during the debate, “…one thing [DeSantis and I] have in common is neither of us will be the nominee of our party in 2024.” While this may be true for Newsom, the California governor is playing the long game, and this showy debate, along with the China-US Summit meeting in San Francisco, is just another step in his strategy to gain broader attention. His methods seem to work to some degree as he has reportedly raised millions of dollars for Biden’s campaign, and approximately five million viewers watched the debate. Nonetheless, Gov. Newsom’s political posturing is hurting him as recent polls reveal that 49% of California voters disapprove of his performance as governor. If he’s genuinely interested in being a viable national candidate in 2028, Newsom should be focused on addressing homelessness, soaring housing prices, gun control issues and growing tensions over Israel and Palestine in California rather than debating DeSantis.
Conversely, Newsom performed fairly well, considering two conservative Republicans, DeSantis and Hannity, posed questions that placed him on the defensive. Gov. DeSantis, 40 points behind Trump in the 2024 election, had much more riding on the debate as time runs out for his campaign. Newsom consistently got under his skin with comments about Florida’s six-week abortion ban, tax system and restrictions on books.
DeSantis also managed to raise his profile, but his campaign took a hit when Newsom provocatively claimed, “When are you going to drop out? At least give Nikki Haley a shot to take down Donald Trump as the nominee for the Republican party.” DeSantis’ attacks on California’s liberal and “woke ideology” missed the mark in making progress for his campaign. His “Trump” debate style of provoking, interrupting and name-calling was unproductive, as viewers did not learn anything new or different about his solutions to policy issues. Even more, it was a missed opportunity to have a serious policy debate against one of the most liberal and democratic governors in the country and gain points in the polls.
The highlight of the entire debate was when Gov. DeSantis held up a color-coded map of San Francisco covered in brown spots representing human feces. Meant to call out the city for its failed homelessness problem, a city Gov. Newsom served as mayor from 2004 to 2011, the poop map was an over-the-top stunt. Neither Gov. Newsom nor Gov. DeSantis offered possible solutions or specific ideas about addressing this issue. Homelessness is a serious problem, and reducing it to a ridiculous map of human feces dehumanizes people experiencing homelessness.
Ultimately, this debate was all spectacle, no substance: absolutely unnecessary and useless. The sensationalized and hostile direction in which election campaigns and debates are heading is extremely dangerous. Debates are meant for viewers to learn something new about the candidates’ position on important issues and possible policy solutions—not for politicians to attack each other and boost their political egos. Fox News’ untrustworthy and unbalanced reporting is concerning in an age when political polarization is at its worst, and if this debate is a preview of the tenor of presidential elections to come, it will be a long campaign season.
