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Last night, the nation finally got to witness Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and California Gov. Gavin Newsom debate one another. The debate happened in Georgia with Fox News host Sean Hannity moderating it.

This was highly anticipated as both DeSantis and Newsom have publicly sparred with one another for quite some time. Both governors also regularly accuse one another of implementing failed and dangerous policies.

However, last night's showdown allowed the pair to confront one another face-to-face and answer questions about the leadership of their respective states.

Here's what happened

During the 90-minute segment, Newsom constantly accused DeSantis of making life more dangerous for Floridians, aspiring to regress America back to the 1960s, and failing to make serious headway in his presidential campaign.

However, DeSantis fought back by not only refuting these assertions, but also pointing out California's plethora of shortcomings.

The systemic phasing out of gas-powered vehicles via government action, feces lining the streets of San Francisco, and high crime rates notwithstanding heavy gun control reforms in California were each realities Newsom found himself confronted with.

https://twitter.com/DeSantisWarRoom/status/1730624065973436832

When pressed by both Hannity and DeSantis on these matters, Newsom masterfully redirected and dodged discomfiting questions. In all of Newsom's attempts to explain away valid criticisms made by DeSantis, the fact remains that California has major problems under his leadership.

Later, the Democratic governor found himself in a tight spot when DeSantis blasted him for letting communities like San Francisco deteriorate for years, only to later (and quickly) have things cleaned up when Chinese President Xi Jinping came into town.

DeSantis, while dinging his California counterpart for the state's failings, furthermore made the case for conservative policies, backing his points up with numbers and real-world success stories. One notable example of this is the massive amount of people who moved to Florida after fleeing states like California in recent years.

Slick and slippery

In addition to DeSantis hitting Newsom on policy and explaining how Florida's prospered during his governance, he also knocked the California governor as a "slick, slippery politician."

The GOP leader and presidential candidate warned Americans that Newsom would ultimately lie, spin, and redirect to compensate for his own leadership failures.

Many Americans of all political views found themselves enthused by last night's debate. "#DeSantisNewsomDebate," "DeSantis," "#desantisvsnewsom," "Newsom," "Newscum," and "DeSatan" all trended on X in the aftermath of last night's showdown.