Tipsheet

Gavin Newsom Just Won't Quit His Weird Obsession With Florida

Rebecca Downs
Rebecca Downs  |  April 06, 2023 12:30 PM

While he's not running for president next year, or so he claims, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) has spent a lot of time attacking Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) and the state of Florida. DeSantis is almost certainly going to run, though he has yet to announce his campaign. Newsom, who also has a preoccupation claiming Republicans are banning books, broadcast over Twitter on Wednesday night that he was meeting with librarians in Florida.

When it comes to what's really "at stake," to use Newsom's words, is how books offered to students in school libraries in question are often inappropriate, even pornographic in nature. As Guy pointed out when explaining leftist reactions to a supposed "book ban," Florida law is a response to demands from parents who actually want to know what materials are available to their children. School districts must report to the state any books that parents have challenged as inappropriate, The Washington Times highlighted earlier this year about the law.

"If people believe it's appropriate to have materials about drug-fueled orgies available to elementary schoolers, they're welcome to make that argument.  Florida law now says that parents have a right to know that such materials are available, and to object," Guy wrote in February.

Further, when DeSantis held a press conference last month to expose the book ban hoax, news broadcasts had to cut their feed and Twitter had warning messages about "potentially sensitive content" as he showcased the books available in school libraries. Such books were found in 23 school districts in Florida. As Julio highlighted, of the 175 books removed across the state, 93 percent were removed from media centers and 87 percent were identified as pornographic, violent, or inappropriate for their grade level.

Newsom previously targeted Republican states in a similar manner when he complained about book bans in March of last year, when he tweeted a picture of him reading Toni Morrison's "Beloved." Also pictured on the table was Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird," which was actually banned by some districts in California. 

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Just as was the case last year, Newsom came under fire this time for such a shameless take, as our friends at Twitchy highlighted, with many responding to clips of Newsom at a library shared by reporter Zac Anderson. 

Not only did many users mention Newsom's likely ambitions to run for president, as well as point out he should worry about the problems in his own state, but they questioned he was in Florida, given that California has banned state travel to the state, among many others. 

Newsom had traveled to Montana, another state where California has banned state travel to to visit his in-laws last July. Spokesperson Anthony York indicated Newsom was paying for his own travel, but would not speak about security.

Perhaps the best response to Newsom's trip to Florida, though, which earned its own separate Twitchy piece, came from DeSantis War Room's Christina Pushaw. "GO HOME," Pushaw tweeted in all caps. "YOU AREN’T GETTING THOSE U-HAULS BACK."

Her tweet was clearly a dig at how many people have been fleeing California and its liberal policies. They even ran out of U-Haul trucks at their California locations. The state's population also decreased in 2020 for the first time in California history. Florida on the other hand has seen a surge in population, becoming the fastest-growing state. 

When in California to give a speech at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library last month, DeSantis took note of Newsom's obsession with him. "I know you've got a lot of problems out here, but your governor is very concerned about what we are doing in Florida... so I figured I had to come by," he joked. 

Newsom has repeatedly attacked DeSantis and Florida, as he did when commenting about DeSantis' policies in January of last year. He also released political ads last summer in Florida, inviting people to come to California for the "freedom" there.