The debate between Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) and Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) was enlightening for many reasons. One is that it offered a reminder that Newsom and Democrats want to face any Republican but DeSantis next November.
Throughout the debate, Newsom lifted attacks from both former President Donald Trump and Nikki Haley against DeSantis. He accused DeSantis of being a “lockdown governor,” an already absurd attack from Trump made even more ridiculous coming from lockdown-happy Newsom. He lifted one of Trump’s dumb nicknames for DeSantis (“Red Ron,” because you are supposed to believe DeSantis is pro-China) and mocked DeSantis for Trump’s polling lead.
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This isn’t a surprise, given that Newsom and Trump are also good friends and that their quotes about DeSantis and Florida are often indistinguishable from each other. Along with Trump being wildly unpopular, this is a reminder of the obvious fact that Democrats want Trump to be the nominee.
But Newsom also propped up Nikki Haley throughout the debate, citing her attacks on DeSantis on energy and claiming that DeSantis should just drop out and “give Haley a shot at beating Trump.”
Haley, of course, can’t beat Trump head-to-head. The vast majority of GOP primary voters have Trump and DeSantis as their top two options in either order. If DeSantis were to drop out and “give Haley a shot at beating Trump,” Haley would be trounced. Trump would be the nominee without any debate, and Newsom and Democrats would get their wish regardless.
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The only way that Trump does not become the nominee is if DeSantis peels off enough support from people who already like him as a candidate but are currently backing Trump. Therefore, Newsom decided to boost both Trump and Haley in attacking DeSantis during the duration of the debate to ensure that it doesn’t happen. It is yet another message to GOP voters that DeSantis is the one Democrats want to beat the most and that they do not fear Trump or Haley the way they do the governor who turned Florida from a swing state into a solid red state.
DeSantis is the only one who can beat Trump in the primary and prevent Democrats from getting the easier matchup they crave. That is why Newsom and others have it out for him to the point that they are boosting Trump and Haley. Democrats want anything but to see DeSantis on a debate stage doing to President Joe Biden (or whoever replaces him as the Democratic nominee) what he did to Newsom over a span of 90 minutes.