Newsom and DeSantis participated in “The Great Red State vs. Blue State” debate in Alpharetta, Georgia, hosted by Fox News’ Sean Hannity, where two governors later agreed to extend the debate past its original 90 minute duration. Hannity ended the debate following a commercial break directly after the agreement was made in real time, during which Jennifer Siebel Newsom interjected on behalf of her husband, both Politico and NBC News reported, citing DeSantis aides as well as unaffiliated sources.

The DeSantis campaign confirmed the events to the Daily Caller News Foundation.

“Gavin Newsom got beat so badly last night his wife literally had to throw in the towel for him,” Andrew Romeo, communications director for the DeSantis campaign, told the DCNF. “It was embarrassing.”

However, Newsom aides have since denied that his wife was the reason for the debate ending, arguing that staffers from both governors mutually agreed to the decision, both Politico and NBC News reported.

Ron DeSantis destroyed Gavin Newsom last night — and it wasn’t even close.

See for yourself: pic.twitter.com/ALRpbmUpGy

— DeSantis War Room (@DeSantisWarRoom) December 1, 2023

The two governors sparred over their respective states’ policies, largely over the issues of crime, the economy and numerous social issues.

Newsom dismissed data that Hannity cited over his state’s violent crime rate being higher than both the national average and Florida’s, where he instead claimed that “we’re near 50 year lows, down 55% violent crimes in the state of California from the 1990s.”

“So this is the slick politician — you put up the rates. He has 500 per 100,000. Florida is 250. So that’s almost twice as much, and he’s trying to spin that to say California’s doing good? People are leaving California in droves, largely because public safety has collapsed,” DeSantis pushed back.

The Florida governor presented a map of human feces that he said represented the city of San Francisco, of which Newsom previously served as mayor of.

DeSantis also pressed Newsom on his presidential aspirations for 2024 earlier in the debate, asking, “Why don’t you just admit that you’re running?”

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