Gavin Newsom Escalates Criticism of GOP Governors

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said Republican governors are “doubling down on stupid” in their treatment of immigrants.

Newsom made his comments on Tuesday while speaking at a climate meeting in New York, according to CBS8 in Sacramento. This was just days after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis made headlines by flying migrants to the wealthy vacation hotspot of Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts. 

“Those conservative governors out there, Greg Abbott and others, they’re as dumb as they want to be and they’re just doubling down on stupid, and we will not follow their path,” he said at the Clinton Global Initiative Meeting.

Newsom’s comments came after a Twitter exchange with DeSantis where DeSantis asserted that Newsom’s hair products might be inhibiting his ability to think straight. Newsom responded, tagging DeSantis and replying to a tweet by longtime journalist Dan Rather who proposed a primetime debate between the opposing coast’s governors.

“Hey , clearly you’re struggling, distracted, and busy playing 🏛️Politics with people’s lives,” Newsom tweeted. “Since you have only one overriding need – attention – let’s take this up & debate. I’ll bring my hair gel. You bring your hairspray. Name the time before Election Day.”

However, Newsom insists his tiffs with Republican governors have nothing to do with any future political aspirations, but some local experts say it’s time for Newsom to focus more on his home state.

“For Newsom to make the case that he should be seen as a national progressive leader, he really needs to show more progress in California on issues like homelessness, energy costs, transportation,” political analyst and UC Berkeley Professor Omar Wasow told CBS 8. “California remains the number one state for poverty.”