On Thursday night, Govs. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) and Gavin Newsom (D-CA) took part in the "The Great Red vs. Blue State Debate" moderated by Fox News' Sean Hannity. Not only was DeSantis praised for his performance, but Newsom's poor performance has also been noticed, as he hardly answered any question at all. This was the case for a variety of issues, including some of the Democratic Party's favorite ones, including abortion.
From the start, Newsome at least warned DeSantis, Hannity, and the viewers that he was going to say what he wanted to say, rather than offer responses to Hannity's questions. The first question from Hannity involved the population loss that California experienced for the first time in its history, during Newsom's time as governor. Many are fleeing to red states, including and especially Florida. Newsom, even after multiple reminders from Hannity that he didn't answer the question, instead wanted to talk about people going from Florida going to California.
What became a pattern was particularly noticeable towards the end of the debate as well, as the two discussed abortion, an issue which Hannity pointed to as "a topic that will seemingly play a very large role in the future elections."
Hannity, looking to get Newsom "on record," to his credit pointed out that the Democratic governor has "been unwilling to answer this question." Specifically, he asked him "should there be any restrictions on the issue of abortion that you support at all?" Hannity also made sure to be clear in that "my question [is] very specific, do you support any restrictions at all on abortion, especially in month seven, eight, and nine, past viability?"
Newsom began not by answering the question, which again, to Hannity's credit had been rather specifc. Instead, he began by going after DeSantis' position. When he did finally speak to the question at hand, sort of, he went with an oft-repeated but also easily debunked talking point about abortions that occur that late into pregnancy.
"On the issue of the extreme exception that you highlight as it relates to the issue of later term abortion, it’s almost always because of a fetal anomaly, the life of the mother. And in those rare cases, I trust, and answer your question, I trust the mother and her doctor to make that decision," Newsom offered.
When it was his turn to speak, DeSantis addressed Newsom's falsehoods, using Florida data. It's not just in Florida, though, where abortions this late in pregnancy occur for elective reasons, and not so much because of fetal anomolies or the life or health of the mother.
As Hannity continued to ask for clarification, Newsom made clear that that's all that we were going to hear from him. Here's more on that exchange, according to a transcript from Fox News Channel:
HANNITY: So, in other words, I want to be clear on this. If a woman and her doctor for any reason --
NEWSOM: Not for any reason.
HANNITY: No, no, no, I’m asking --
NEWSOM: It’s extremely rare.
HANNITY: Should there be --
NEWSOM: This is a -- I know where you guys are going, Sean...
HANNITY: I’m asking -- I watch your -- I watch your --
NEWSOM: This is where you guys have to go --
HANNITY: I’m asking. Should -- should there be --
NEWSOM: -- to cover for the extreme anti-abortion agenda of Ron DeSantis that’s hurting your party.
HANNITY: -- would you support a ban on abortion in seventh, eighth, and ninth month through
NEWSOM: I just answered your question.
HANNITY: -- if -- if the doors if the mother's life is not in jeopardy?
NEWSOM: It is extreme, extreme exception. People aren’t going on and having abortion unless devastating has happened.
HANNITY: Should it be illegal then? If it is rare, should it be illegal?
NEWSOM: It should be up to the mother and her doctor and her conscience. And it almost --
HANNITY: So, the answer is no restriction?
NEWSOM: I’ve already answered it.
HANNITY: No restriction?
NEWSOM: And I’d just reinforce it.
HANNITY: OK.
Newsom then responded by, despite not being the moderator, asking DeSantis about his limits on abortion, specifically as to if he would sign a national six-week ban into law. Back in April, DeSantis signed a heartbeat bill into law so as to protect unborn children once there's a detectable heartbeat, which is usually at around six weeks. The Florida law contains exceptions.
During their back-and-forth, DeSantis also pointed out that "Newsom's "wrong when he says the latter terms are all because of this. Eighty-eight percent past 15 weeks are, in fact, elective from the Florida data. He doesn't keep data there," referring to how California is one of just a handful of states that doesn't report abortion statistics to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
"But that is really extreme, to take your tax dollars and to do this all the way up to the moment of birth. He didn't answer your question about any type of protections at all for a baby that has a beating heart, that can feel pain, that is viable," DeSantis went on to say.
Gavin Newsom will not name one single restriction on abortion he would support to protect the unborn — even when asked about months 7, 8, and 9 of pregnancy. pic.twitter.com/QEsUrz6w38
— Mary Margaret Olohan (@MaryMargOlohan) December 1, 2023
After much crosstalk between Newsom and also DeSantis, Hannity ultimatwely moved on. It was actually a lightning round, where the governors were asked about many different topics and asked to answer with one-word responses. Perhaps Hannity should have asked about abortion during this round to try to get an answer from Newsom.
This wasn't just a pattern during Thursday night's debate, though. Back in September, as Madeline covered, Newsom was asked multiple times by CNN's Dana Bash about what limits he would place on abortion, but he could offer none.
"My point is, no one wants to see the late, late term abortions. No one’s out there promoting that. That’s not what the Democratic Party’s position is," Newsom claimed as part of his response. That’s not what my personal position is. In those rare, and extremely rare, personal circumstances, one thing I absolutely believe, Donald Trump shouldn’t be making that decision. I sure as hell should not be making that decision. That’s a decision for the mother, the would-be mother, and for her doctor, and for whoever member of her family or priest who believes that’s the right thing to do."
His own party, however, is out there doing just that. And they're lying about it. Democrats, including and especially the White House, have pushed for the Women's Health Protection Act (WHPA). No matter how they try to justify it as codifying Roe v. Wade, it goes even further than that, by invalidating all state pro-life laws on the book. Abortion will be available on demand for all nine months without legal limit, and through a bill that Democrats are very much "promoting."
Newsom has been on a crusade to make his state an abortion "sanctuary," even before but especially after Roe was overturned with the Dobbs v. Jackson decision in June of last year, with the decision having been leaked back in May. California has also passed a ballot initative allowing for abortion up until birth. He even had billboard campaigns going on in other states using Bible verses encouraging women to come to California for their abortions. That sounds like he's "promoting" it.
If anything, Thursday's exchange on this topic further highlighted not just how pro-abortion the Democratic Party is, but also how unwilling Newsom and others are to just come out and admit they don't support such restrictions.
Calling out the Democratic Party's stance and narrative is even more crucial, though, given how a vast majority of Americans don't actually agree with Newsom and his party on this. Gallup polls show that 70 percent of Americans believe abortion should be illegal in the third trimester, those later months that Hannity mentioned in his question to Newsom. A Cygnal poll from September found that a plurality of voters--at 21 percent--believe abortion "should be limited after 15 weeks of pregnancy with exceptions."
This should have been an easy one for Newsom, especially when the Republican Party has struggled on the abortion issue and Democrats have benefited not only from Republicans' struggles, but from their own misrepresentations about their party's position and how Americans actually feel about limits on abortion. Meanwhile, where the press is really willing to turn into Democratic activists is on the issue of abortion, as we've seen happen with NBC's Dash Burns and DeSantis.
Especially if Newsom is to be a presidential candidate, perhaps not in 2024, but quite possibly in 2028, he and his responses on this issue are definitely one to watch and respond to. He may want to brush up on his debate skills, though. That's not merely because Newsom wouldn't answer questions, but because of the debate drama with accusations of "cheating," as POLITICO reported. Further, as Mia highlighted earlier on Friday, his wife even had to step in to prevent him from participating in extra time that Hannity offered to the candidates.
Edited for accuracy. https://t.co/G9P6Omrs1i pic.twitter.com/pHKGxUVEeC
— DeSantis War Room 🐊 (@DeSantisWarRoom) December 1, 2023
