Newsom and DeSantis present two very different debate proposals


California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) are not on the same page for their proposed debate.
Newsom and DeSantis are already polar opposites when it comes to major issues like gun reform, abortion rights, immigration, and education, and have been trading barbs for months. In June, Fox News host Sean Hannity asked Newsom if he would ever debate DeSantis, who is also a Republican candidate for president. Newsom said yes, and sent proposed terms to Hannity in late July, writing that the event "will be marketed as a Red vs. Blue debate that is focused on the impact of representation at the state level."
Hannity would be the moderator, Newsom said, and the two governors would be the only speakers. The 90-minute debate would air live on Fox News, with Newsom and DeSantis each having four minutes to deliver an opening statement. They would not be allowed to come in with any notes or documents, and there would not be an audience in the room with them. Newsom suggested holding the event in Nevada, Georgia or North Carolina and said he is available on Nov. 8 or Nov. 10.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
DeSantis told Hannity last Wednesday that he was open to debating Newsom, adding, "This is a debate for the future of our country." He submitted his proposal to the host on Friday, and said he wants the event to take place in front of a live audience split evenly between both sides. DeSantis does not want any opening remarks, and instead proposed the governors should put together two-minute videos, approved by Fox News, to play at the start of the event.
DeSantis' counterproposal is "a joke," Nathan Click, a spokesman for Newsom, said in a statement, and it is "littered with crutches to hide his insecurity and ineptitude — swapping opening statements with a hype video, cutting down the time he needs to be on stage, adding cheat notes and a cheering section." DeSantis, he continued, "should be able to stand on his own two feet. It's no wonder Trump is kicking his ass."
Eric Ting, politics editor at SFGate, wrote that DeSantis had been smart to avoid debating Newsom, as "it would be bizarre for someone polling at second place in a presidential primary to debate against someone on the sidelines." When DeSantis finally accepted the invitation, it was because his presidential campaign is "bleeding staff, money and support in the polls," Ting added. "He needs something, anything, to give his campaign life. Debating Newsom looks like an act of desperation because it is one."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
How does the Clean Air Act work?
The Explainer The law makes the air healthier. Will what we breathe stay that way?
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Inside the Israel-Turkey geopolitical dance across Syria
THE EXPLAINER As Syria struggles in the wake of the Assad regime's collapse, its neighbors are carefully coordinating to avoid potential military confrontations
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
US Treasuries were a 'safe haven' for investors. What changed?
Today's Big Question Doubts about America's fiscal competence after 'Liberation Day'
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
White House pushes for oversight of Columbia University
Speed Read The Trump administration is considering placing the school under a consent decree
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Supreme Court backs wrongly deported migrant
Speed Read The Trump administration must 'facilitate' the return of wrongfully deported migrant Kilmar Ábrego García from El Salvador, Supreme Court says
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Two judges bar war-powers deportations
Speed Read The Trump administration was blocked from using the Alien Enemies Act to deport more alleged Venezuelan gang members
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump pauses some tariffs but ramps up China tax
Speed Read The president suspended most 'reciprocal' tariffs for 90 days and raised his tariffs for China to 125%
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Ukraine nabs first Chinese troops in Russia war
Speed Read Ukraine claims to have f two Chinese men fighting for Russia
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
IRS chief resigning after ICE deal on taxpayer data
Speed Read Several IRS officials are stepping down after the tax agency is forced to share protected taxpayer records to further Trump's deportation drive
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Musk and Navarro feud as Trump's trade war escalates
Speed Read The spat between DOGE chief Elon Musk and Trump's top trade adviser Peter Navarro suggests divisions within the president's MAGA coalition
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
'Newsom has effectively assumed the presidency'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published