California Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom challenged Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis to a debate ahead of November's gubernatorial elections—trolling him expertly in the process.
Both Newsom and DeSantis are future viable presidential candidates on opposite sides of the political aisle, a fact noted by veteran news anchor Dan Rather, who suggested Chris Licht—a newsman and producer who recently took the helm at CNN—should set up a "one-on-one" debate between the two men.
"Ratings I bet would be huge," said Rather, adding:
"Who would have the courage to show up?"
The idea intrigued Newsom.
He retweeted Rather's tweet and indicated he would be on board.
He also addressed DeSantis, saying he is "struggling, distracted, and busy playing politics with people's lives," a reference to a recent political stunt in which DeSantis shipped migrants who'd arrived in Florida off to Massachusetts without letting them know where they were going.
Newsom went even further, adding:
"Since you have only one overriding need—attention—let's take this up and debate."
"I'll bring my hair gel. You bring your hairspray."
"Name the time before Election Day."
Social media users seemed to approve of the idea.
Newsom recently criticized DeSantis, writing a letter imploring the Department of Justice (DOJ) to to investigate whether 50 migrants were lured to Martha's Vineyard based on false promises of employment.
Last week, DeSantis sparked outrage after he took responsibility for shipping about 50 migrants—including families with young children—to Massachusetts.
According to reports, the migrants were shipped from Texas after being told they were headed to Boston where they expected to receive expedited work permits. Instead, they were flown to Martha's Vineyard—a longtime New England summer vacation spot located just south of Cape Cod—and no one on the island nor in Massachusetts' Republican Governor's office had any advance notice of their arrival.
Islanders were praised for helping the asylum seekers, offering them food, shelter and healthcare.
DeSantis has been critical of Newsom in the past, particularly after Newsom ran ads in his state encouraging Florida residents to move to California. Newsom also drew DeSantis' ire after he announced he would donate $100,000 to Charlie Crist, DeSantis' Democratic opponent for governor of Florida.
