The Seth Meyers appearance follows last month’s face-off with DeSantis, moderated by Fox News’ Sean Hannity, where Newsom struggled to land direct jabs at the Florida governor in a messy, 90-minute debate. The California Democrat, a major surrogate for President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign and probable 2028 White House contender, had hoped to show off his blue state bonafides on the national stage. But what was billed as a fair fight between the governors quickly devolved into a two-on-one situation, with Newsom fending off blows from both Hannity and DeSantis.
Speaking in more friendly territory to Meyers in New York City Wednesday, the Democratic governor had free rein to castigate DeSantis — including his floundering presidential campaign.
“I’m not running for president,” Newsom said. “Ron DeSantis, apparently, still is.”
Newsom accused him of censoring facts, rewriting history and going after marginalized groups.
“I’ve developed a lot of animus toward him because of his animus toward all of you,” he said to the studio audience that frequently applauded Newsom. “This guy is scapegoating vulnerable communities. He’s attacking minorities, attacking women, and I don’t like it.”
Newsom has repeatedly rebuffed speculations that he’s mounting a bid for president in 2024, and has shown deference to Biden. He told Meyers “it was an honor to be” on Hannity “to tell the truth about the Biden record”
He’s also criticized Democrats for failing to counter Republican narratives on culture war issues.
The governor hit that point again on Wednesday, saying that he agreed to the debate because he felt it was important to “hold these guys accountable.”
“I wanted to push back against it,” he said of DeSantis’ policies around transgender students and drag shows. “I felt like the party was a little timid on all this.”
He said Democrats need to be the ones hitting Republicans first over things like gun control.
“On all of these issues we’re on the right side but we just need to get on the other side of our anxieties and doubts and go on the offensive,” he said.
Meyers also gave Newsom a chance to rebuff Republican criticism of his own state, asking him about the pervasive homelessness in California, a costly high-speed rail project and the problems plaguing his hometown of San Francisco.
“They’ve been on a doom loop about San Francisco ever since Nancy Pelosi became speaker,” Newsom said.