On Sunday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis attacked California Governor Gavin Newsom during a speech at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif.—pointing out that under Newsom, residents are fleeing California in large numbers in favor of the freedom offered by Florida.
“I knew you guys got a lot of problems out here, but your governor is very concerned about what we’re doing in Florida, so I figured I had to come by,” DeSantis joked at the beginning of his speech.
He then cited Reagan’s understanding that government has a vital role to play, but it can be a “negative force if not applied properly.” That understanding, he said, guided him during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“And I think if you look over the last four or five years, and you look at the performances of individual states, and you compare Florida versus California, New York, Illinois, some of those other states, we have had a great experiment, a great test in governing philosophies,” DeSantis said. “Because, of course, you know, we approach things much differently in Florida than you guys have out here, much differently in Florida than they’ve done in New York and in Illinois.”
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Last July, Newsom aired a campaign ad in Florida warning Floridians that “freedom is under attack” in their state and encouraging them to relocate to California, “where we still believe in freedom.” It’s still hilarious when you think about it.
“And if you look over the last four years, we’ve witnessed a great American exodus from states governed by leftist politicians imposing leftist ideology and delivering poor results, and you’ve seen massive gains in states like Florida, who are governing according to the tried and true principles that President Reagan held dear,” DeSantis continued. “From the beginning of this state’s history, all the way until the last four or five years, people beat a path to California. You didn’t beat a path away from California. And yet now, you see the state hemorrhaging population.”
DeSantis and Newsom are both considered presidential contenders, though Newsom has indicated he will not oppose Biden if he runs for reelection.
